Fate of the Kotetsu
by Jericho Lament
Summary: Kinji Kotetsu is the older brother of Isane and Kiyone. He is also the heir to the third Great Noble House. After being released from house arrest in the 1st Division barracks he is appointed to be Captain of Squad 3. But this step toward peace is being undermined by another group moving in the shadows. Will the new Captain survive? Set in pago's Winter War universe, sort of.
1. Plans and Promotions

A/N

This story is set in an AU version of pago's Bleach universe, So it's an AAU I suppose. Assume all material from Winter War is still in effect, but nothing from Espada's Masquerade or anything after it. Plenty of cameos by canon bleach characters as well as some of pago's characters. The link to Winter War is here,  s/5567628/1/The-Winter-War-Anrak-s-Tale

Chapter 1

"Do you know why I've called you back from the Rukon?" Yamamoto was addressing his subordinate alone in the Captain's Hall. His 4th seat had been away for more than a year, hunting rogue Soul Reapers in North Rukongai.

"No, Captain-Commander. I was only three marks away from completing the list you gave me. What do you need?"

"There have been several changes in the command structure of the Gotei 13 in the last year. Several Captain's positions have been filled. Only Squad 3 remains without a Captain." The soldier in front of Soul Society's supreme military officer glanced up at his Captain with bright gray eyes. His silver hair had grown long and hung down across his face. His shihakusho was slashed and tattered revealing scarred and heavily muscled arms. His feet were bare, his sandals had long since broken from walking out in the wilds. "I am placing you in Squad 3 at the level of 3rd seat. During this trial period you will report directly to me.

"Sir?" Kinji Kotetsu's head shot up in surprise. His heart literally skipped a beat. For over 100 years he'd taken the dangerous assignments, the jobs no one else was willing to do. And now the thing he had been running from had finally found him.

"This is not a request 4th Seat Kotetsu. We both know you've delayed this day for far too long. It is time." Yamamoto's stern voice, along with the reminder of Kotetsu's rank, made him hesitate before voicing his dissent.

"Captain Commander. I ask that you reconsider. I'm not sure the plan will still work. I'm no longer trusted by most in the Seireitei."

"Irrelevant. The Gotei 13 needs 13 Captains. And you are the best qualified candidate. I am placing you at 3rd seat, as we discussed."

"And my other duties-?" Kinji asked. He'd been personally assigned to the Head-Captain for so long, it would feel odd being part of the normal command structure again.

"-will be handled by the Onmitsukido for the foreseeable future. Tomorrow morning at sunrise you will be present at the Captain's meeting for the announcement of your transfer. Dismissed." Yamamoto slammed his cane on the floor signaling the end of the meeting. Kinji rose, bowed and left for his quarters. It had been over a year since Aizen's death and after that event he had been freed. He had believed himself a close friend of the man and many agreed. When Aizen Sosuke had betrayed the Gotei 13 he had been kept under house arrest in case he was a mole left behind to cause havoc. He opened the door to his room, his prison, and decided he would sleep outside. The first division had a meditation garden that was really quite peaceful at any time. But at night he couldn't ask for a more tranquil place to rest his head. He laid down in the sand and closed his eyes, silently praying that tomorrow wouldn't go as badly as he believed.

The Captains that had assembled in the meeting hall were talking quietly among themselves. Kyoraku was standing next to Sui-Feng. He rambled endlessly about which types of sake suited which time of year. Sui-Feng bore it all absently, her mind elsewhere. Specifically what to do about her Lieutenant vacancy. The post had been open since the end of the Winter War, she'd tried a number of replacements. Most of them had failed miserably. They had no stomach for the kind of work such a position demanded. Weaklings, one and all in her opinion. She needed someone who could get their hands dirty and not come whining to her about irrelevant things like conscience or sleeping the night through. Komamura was his usual stoic self. Huge and silent. Hitsugaya was barely half his height but he imitated the fox-captain's demeanor perfectly. Unohana was off to Sui-Feng's right, smiling and waiting patiently for the meeting to begin. She brought an air of much needed warmth to the hall. But with Kurotsuchi Mayuri standing less the 10 feet away the warmth was barely noticeable.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood with his head bowed and his eyes closed. He'd also been busy looking for a Lieutenant since Renji had been promoted. The red-haired man stood impatiently at his side in the hall. This was not his first Captain's meeting but Renji had still not become comfortable with his rank. Byakuya glanced to the end of the line and saw Anrak Ushii, another freshman Captain. He wore the pleasant smile of a man whose life was good. Across from him was his former Captain. Zaraki Kenpachi had a familiar scowl on his face. It was a look the other Captains had become accustomed to over the years. It was a sure sign the man was itching for a fight. There were two absences, Hiisagi was unavailable to attend and the Captaincy of Division 3 remained open. Yamamoto entered from the back of the hall as usual. The old man looked much as he had for the past few centuries, white haired and radiating power. He thumped his cane on the floor to begin the meeting.

"Today the Gotei 13 will finally be made whole. I have found an officer capable of leading Division 3 as it's Captain. Kinji Kotetsu! Step forward." A young looking man entered the hall through the main door. He had his silver hair cut to a medium length and he had gray eyes to match. A black hilted katana hung on his hip. But he wasn't wearing the white haori of a Captain. Byakuya's eyes locked on him immediately, along with three other Captains. Unohana smiled at him warmly, Mayuri scowled fiercely, and Kyoraku lifted his sakkat with a thumb to get a better look. All the Captains examined him closely. His hair was tied back but a good deal of his bangs were loose and hung just to the sides of his eyes. His physique looked to the thin side of average. He had a scar showing at the very top edge of his collar above his sternum. His expression was somber, but he had a small smile for Unohana and he offered a nod to Byakuya. He got up to Yamamoto and knelt in the manor of a subordinate. "Unless any valid objections are raised, Kinji Kotetsu will be promoted to 3rd seat of Division 3. If he has performed acceptably after half a year he will be promoted to Captain. If you have anything to say, say it now." Most of the Captains were taken aback by this aberration from normal procedure. None of them had been consulted to conduct a Captains exam. But it was Mayuri's voice that broke the tense silence.

"I object to this dog leading a Division." Mayuri said loudly.

"On what grounds?" Kyoraku asked.

"On the grounds that he is untrustworthy. This man was closely associated with Aizen before his betrayal. To give him such a position would only encourage a second rebellion." Kinji kept silent. Saying anything would only damage his standing. But he wanted to. He wanted to shout the other man down, scream at him that he was betrayed by Aizen just like everyone else.

"He has proven himself loyal to Soul Society many times since then. His dedication to the Gotei 13 is beyond reproach." Yamamoto said. Mayuri stepped back into line.

"What's this all about Yama-jii?" Kyoraku asked. He was concerned. Kinji Kotetsu was known among the older Captains as Yamamoto's personal bounty hunter. When he wanted someone captured or killed and didn't want to involve the Onmitsukido, he sent Kinji. Kyoraku and Unohana were both old enough to remember when the young man first graduated from the Soul Academy. Yamamoto had placed him with the Onmitsukido for 50 years than moved him to Division 1. No one other than Yamamoto himself knew why. But it was obvious to everyone present that Kinji Kotetsu enjoyed the Head-Captain's full confidence and support.

"The vacancy of a Captain's seat is unacceptable. I have been patient and waited for one of the other Divisions to produce a candidate. My patience is at an end. The Gotei 13 must be made whole." Yamamoto understood Kyoraku's question perfectly, but his dodge made it clear that the old man would not be answering that question.

"If I may offer a suggestion?" Byakuya Kuchiki said without stepping forward. When Kinji heard his voice he wondered what his fellow noble had up his sleeve. He'd expected the Kuchiki to support his

"Speak." Yamamoto allowed.

"Most of those assembled here have no history or knowledge of this man. It would put our minds at ease if we were allowed to witness his proficiency test."

" I agree." Mayuri spoke up. "We do not even know if he is suited to the position of Captain. A weakling as a Captain is worse than no Captain at all."

"Then why're you still standing here clown?" Zaraki said. Mayuri's hand went to his zanpakuto. The Head-Captain slammed his cane down to end the argument. More than one of these meetings had become wasteful due to bickering. He would not allow it to happen today.

"I agree with your proposition, Captain Kuchiki. After his trial period he will undergo the Captain's proficiency exam." Kuchiki didn't say a word. That wasn't what he'd asked for and everyone there knew it. Under ordinary circumstances the test would have been administered prior to a meeting being called. At every turn the old man was blocking any attempts at transparency. Anrak and Renji, the only two Captains present who hadn't gotten used to the routines of their status, looked at each other. Renji raised an eyebrow at his long-time friend. Anrak shook his head indicating that he was confused too.

Kinji kept silent, as he been instructed. He understood the wisdom of Yamamoto's plan. Didn't stop him from feeling insulted though. _Patience, my host._ Came the voice in his head. His zanpakuto reminding him to play along for now. Her voice was soft and pleased. She approved of intrigue. Her face flashed into Kinji's mind briefly. Pale white skin and pitch black hair that fell to her ankles. A strip of white cloth covered her eyes and her mouth was eternally turned up at the corners in amusement. As usual she was pleased and he was suffering discomfort.

The hall remained silent. After a long 10 count Yamamoto declared the matter settled and dismissed everyone. But Kinji didn't leave. He needed to speak with his superior before everything started.

"Head- Captain?" Yamamoto nodded for him to continue. Kinji rose from his kneeling position. "I know why the trial period is necessary, but why not have me take the proficiency test? Am I not ready?"

"You are more than ready. But such a test would reveal things we have worked hard to conceal. Bear the indignity for now. All that I have asked of you is necessary."

"Yes, Head-Captain." Kinji stood and walked back to his barracks. His things were already being moved into the small house reserved for the high ranking officers of the 3rd Division. He wrestled with the uncertainty of his position. If he was still standing when the smoke cleared the Captain's seat would be his. But he had a lot of work to do before the real plan started. His new Division had been leaderless for quite a while.


	2. Ninjas and Alcohol

33 days. That was how long Kinji Kotetsu had been 3rd seat of Squad 3. With all those 3's you'd assume things were going well. You'd be wrong. He was a patient man by nature, but all the duties and responsibilities of his office, plus the workload that would normally go to a Lieutenant and Captain, had worn him down. And to top it off, he hadn't killed anyone in weeks. Before his "promotion" he had been Head-Captain Yamamoto's personal hunting dog. He was sent out to capture or kill traitors, dissidents, and even nobles who plotted the Seireitei's overthrow. He's been Division 1's 4th Seat. And in 117 more days he would be the Captain of Division 3. If he succeeded in all his duties. That seemed pretty far-fetched to him at that moment. If he didn't find some way to blow off steam he was going to kill every officer in the Division and try to justify it later.

"Um, Kotetsu-sama?" Ye gods and little fishes. He was so stressed he hadn't noticed someone opening the door behind him. The baritone voice told him it was a male, the odd shuffle of feet as he walked in told him the soldier was wounded.

"Didn't I tell you to take a rest Aoki-san?" His subordinate, 10th Seat he thought, had been injured during a sparring match he had been forced to referee earlier that morning. The kid was under orders for bed-rest until tomorrow.

"Yes sir, but there was something I needed to ask you." The trepidation in Aoki's voice made him drop his brush. He pushed the uselessly redundant form aside and turned around.

"You know, when I gave that speech I didn't actually mean I would like to be bothered about every little detail of my subordinate's lives." Aoki paled slightly, but he nodded and stood his ground. _**This must be important, **_Kinji thought.

"I know sir, but-" Aoki's brown eyes twitched down to the letter in his hand and back to Kinji. "Are you related to the Kotetsu sisters in Squads 4 and 13?"

"Yes, I'm the eldest son of the Kotetsu family."

"Could you, um. Could you deliver this letter for me?"

"Another love letter? You know Kiyone just tosses them, right?" Kiyone was the youngest sister and had been getting romantic overtures for decades. Some of her would-be suitors thought they would be able to score points by going through him. It worked once then she caught on.

"Kiyone? No, I was hoping you'd take it to Squad 4 and give it to Lieutenant Isane." A slight breeze could have knocked Kinji over at that point. Isane had been in the Gotei 13 for more than a century. This was the first time anyone had tried to make him a courier so they could give her a love letter. And with the way things were between them right now, it wasn't a particularly good idea. Then something else occurred to him. Aoki had received high marks in Hakuda in the Academy and was not given to clumsiness. "Aoki-san. How many times have you been injured this month?" The young man shuffled uncomfortably. "Why didn't you give her the letter yourself when you were there this morning?"

"I would have sir. But Captain Unohana was making her rounds and, well..." Kinji let out a sigh. Isane was practically Unohana's daughter. That alone had probably deterred several suitors. That woman was as terrifying as she was kind. Like some kind of cross between a nun and a demon.

"Say no more. But if you are serious about this you'll have to deal with her eventually." all he got in response was a shallow nod. Kinji checked the clock. Only 2pm? It felt like an eternity since he'd started on his 2 foot stack of papers. But it was fortunate for Aoki. Isane would be done with her daily rounds within the next hour. Then she would do exactly as she had done for the last 50 years. Go to a quiet spot in the 4 Division gardens and drink cold coffee. Ever since she'd hit 130 cm she'd been doing anything she thought could stunt her growth. She was nearly as tall as he was now. It irked her to no end. Aoki bowed and thanked him at least 4 times. Kinji waved him out but stopped him before he closed the door. "10th Seat Aoki. If you ever purposely injure yourself to get sent to Squad 4 again, I will make sure your injuries keep you there for a month. Am I clear?" his tone was quiet and reasonable. Aoki's face went sheet white. He swallowed, nodded, and shut the door quietly behind him.

_Nicely handled, my host. I do believe he will avoid you for some time._ The voice in his head was warm, sensual, and held just a dash of humor. His zanpakuto spirit liked to comment on just about every choice he made.

_**Miko, I've had a very long day already. And it's about to get worse. I have to go talk to Isane.**_

_ Actually, I don't think you have to. You could just burn the letter and go your way._

"I'm not a coward. I don't shy away from doing the things that need to be done." Kinji said out loud. Partly so he could remind himself. He saw an image flash in his mind. Blood, black in the moonlight, stained his sword and his hands. Self-loathing, fear, panic, and despair stabbed through him like a phantom blade.

_You certainly don't, my most worthy host._ Kinji flinched and shut his zanpakuto's voice from his mind. He didn't want to deal with her mind games just then. He had a letter to deliver.

Isane was just as stressed as her brother. Squad 11 had held an officer competition, which essentially consisted of a free for all beating. And an entire Patrol unit came in with severe wounds from the Rokongai. There weren't enough beds, enough staff, and they were short of reishi for transfusions. She had been marshalling subordinates into appropriate order, performing surgery, prescribing treatments, and dealing with uncooperative patients. And she knew by experience that a mountain of resulting paperwork would be hers when the action was over. But she straightened her back and bore with it. Underneath her quirks and insecurities she had a backbone made of cast iron. And a heart that overflowed with the desire to help. Even when she was little she had taken in small animals and nursed them back to health.

That was one of many memories kindled in the mind of Kinji Kotetsu at the sight of his sister. He'd brought both the letter and a cup of fine Italian roast coffee to help smooth over their reunion. They hadn't spoken in the better part of a year, basically since he'd been placed under house arrest. Not that their relationship had been particularly familial. Unlike Kiyone, Isane was old enough to remember the darker times for the Kotetsu family. And the things he'd done to end those times. It was one of the things he regretted most in his life. And now he had an excuse to attempt to repair things.

Isane was signing a requisition form for more surgical instruments when the coffee was placed on her desk. Her eyes locked on the cup and her eyelids relaxed in gratitude and her mouth formed a small smile. Then she looked at the man who had given it to her and both of those things disappeared. Her face was unnaturally neutral. The sheer absence of emotion on her face gave it an alien appearance.

"Hello, nii-sama. How have you been?" Kind, professional, and lacking any kind of familial warmth.

"Well, I'm enjoying the free air. And I'm happy to see my little sister again." He was looking her straight in the eyes when he said it. He meant it with all his heart. But Isane looked away.

"My apologies nii-sama, but I have very little time to visit today." she began, hoping to shoo him out of her place. But he had been prepared for the confrontation while she had not. He'd had her outmaneuvered since he walked in the room.

"That's why I brought this." he slid a form over to her. A consent form for reishi donation. "I know you're running short and I'm a universal donor. Please Isane. Don't make me beg." She could have someone else take his donation. She could tell him to get lost. She could order him to say nothing until the donation was done. She outranked him and he had always respected that. She sighed in defeat and took the form.

"Follow me." She led him to one of the few open beds and brought out a set of equipment. "Please have a seat." he laid down on the table and rolled up the sleeves of his shihakusho.

"Isane-" he started.

"This may hurt a little." She slipped the needle in his arm and hit the vein on the first go. Then she switched on the machine that would extract the raw reishi from the blood.

"I love you Isane. Please just talk to me." he pleaded.

"Like you loved Father?" The phantom blade in his guts suddenly felt more real.

"You know why I did it. And I can't take back what I did. But we're both still here. Please, sister. Don't-"

"Don't what? Grieve? Bear anger toward my father's murderer?"

"I had to. He was going to betray Soul Society." Even more guilt piled on him. He wasn't exactly lying. But that wasn't entirely true either.

"It isn't just what you did then. You're a killer, Kinji. You made the choices that made you one. I heal people and protect them. Protect them, from people like you." The blade twisted painfully. Silence reigned for a time. Then Kinji spoke.

"You're right. I've killed, dirtied my hands with the blood of fellow Soul Reapers. But you're my sister. And you're an officer of the Gotei 13. I know you understand why what I do is necessary, and you know me. I don't kill because I hate the traitors, the runaways, the murderers. I love this place and those who live here too much to allow them to be threatened." Then she finally sat down and looked him in the eyes. Hers were threatening to open the floodgates. He reached for her hand and she flinched away.

" I know. But I can't. I-I just can't." She shuddered. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Things will never be like they were. We're not children anymore and I can't undo what I've done. But is the hour truly so late that I should give up hope? That I should never see my sister again?"

_ You are truly a cruel man. Look how she suffers on your account._

_**Be quiet!**_

"Just- just give me some time." Her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs and tears trailed down her cheeks. "I can't do this right now!"

_Tell her, my host. Use the mirror to show her why. Show her your father as he truly was._

_**NO!**_

___Sometimes it is better to break a thing entirely than let it remain cracked. Show her, break her. _

_**SHUT UP!**_

__Then Captain Unohana walked into the room. She looked coolly at everything in the room and her eyes focused on Kinji.

" 3rd Seat Kotetsu, why is my Lieutenant crying?"

_**I'm so dead. **_"My apologies Captain. I came in to donate reishi and I ended up reopening old wounds. Isane and I haven't seen each other in some time."

"3rd Seat Kotetsu. You are in the 4th Division undergoing a medical procedure during a small crisis. You will address her as Lieutenant Kotetsu until her shift here is over. Understood?" Kinji nodded, avoiding eye contact. "I appreciate that you're family, but this is not the place, and certainly not the time." She pulled the vials of reishi from the machine and examined them. Most donations were tinted light colors based on the person they were from. This reishi was pure white, no color deviations. Just like- she broke the thought off before it finished. There were more important things to tend to. "And thank you for your donation." Kinji departed Squad 4 at speed, feeling a little weak from the reishi loss. All in all, things had gone better than he'd had any right to expect. You take the little victories where you can. Isane may actually start talking to him, Unohana hadn't killed him. And the letter from Aoki was safely in Isane's office. Sure it had cost him some blood but he knew how the world worked. If you wanted real change, someone had to bleed.

He went back to his paperwork with a little more enthusiasm and optimism. But after the first foot or so he found his willpower slipping. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake. On a whim he stood up and went to his refrigerator. It was a little inconvenient getting it from the World of the Living but cold drinks on a hot summer night were the ultimate luxury. He grabbed a glass bottle from a ways back and popped the top off. Then he grabbed a second bottle and shut the door. As he stood up he found Sui-Feng standing just in front of his desk. He sat down, pointedly not speaking to her. Her eyes narrowed. He moved the paperwork to one side and set the unopened bottle on her side of the table.

"Please, have a seat Captain." she sat down and glared at the bottle in front of her. It was dark brown glass with a picture of a bee on the paper label. If this was some kind of joke she would use Kinji's head to break the bottle. "Captain, you're insulting me. Like a good host I provided a place for you to recline and a refreshment." He raised an eyebrow waiting for her to follow the rules of etiquette he had grown up with and still insisted on using. It was also still the protocol among the noble families.

"3rd Seat Kotetsu," he was getting fairly sick of people calling him 3rd Seat and making it sound like an insult, "Are you asking me to drink this... beverage without knowing what it is?"

"Yes." The brazenness of his insistence shocked her. "Or if you won't at least decline in a suitably polite fashion." Her eyes caught fire and she grabbed the bottle, pulled the cap off and took a drink. The twin flavors of honey and apples snuck up on her taste buds and cracked them over the head with a sugary tasting brick. The subtle bite of alcohol followed shortly after. Her face was stubbornly set in her usual hard-eyed stare but her mind was on the drink she was currently holding.

"I'm here to talk to you about joining Squad 2 as my Lieutenant." Now it was Kinji's turn to rock back on his heels. Sui-Feng took another sip of her drink, drifted on honey-based nirvana, and waited for the answer she wanted to hear.

"I'm honored, Captain. But I have rather explicit orders from Genryuusai-dono preventing me from accepting such an invitation." He was being completely honest.

"I'm sure he would understand. My Lieutenant died in the Winter War and I have yet to find anyone competent enough to replace him. Then you were released from house arrest and my problem suddenly had a solution."

"I am deeply sorry Captain, but I simply won't cause trouble for the Genryuusai-sensei."

"I am not accustomed to taking no for an answer." Kinji bit back a sarcastic response. Instead he just shook his head. Sui-Feng sighed and set down her bottle. She'd already emptied it. Kinji's eyes went a little wide. The way he'd made it the drink had contained 18% alcohol. Sure enough, Sui-Feng's face was already showing some color. _**You know, I think I jumped the gun earlier with Unohana. Now I'm dead.**_

___It is...entirely plausible my host._

_**Screw it. I'm going for broke and hope she drinks until she passes out.**_

"Would you care for another drink Captain?"

"Of course not. Why would I want more of something so dull and tasteless?" Kinji got another one out anyway. Before he could crack it open it vanished from his hands. Sui-Feng had it up ended and was nearly purring in contentment. "So what is this stuff?"

"Um, mead. My own recipe. Took me 40 years to get it right." She giggled a little and his blood froze. The head of the Stealth Corps didn't giggle. Except maybe when she was torturing people.

"You know, I don't think I want such a slow learner as my Lieutenant. You took 4 decades to make this swill? Deplorable. I could do better in 20 minutes. Where's the kitchen in this place?" Sui-Feng stood up and started walking toward his bedroom. Kinji placed himself in front of her.

"I'm willing to take your word for it Captain." then he added under his breath "Lady Yoruichi didn't insult me when she tried it." The change that came over Sui-Feng was immediate and dramatic. Her eyes got misty and her face reddened even more. Her shoulders hunched together and her voice became breathy.

"Yoruichi-sama...likes this drink? You have to give me more!" She had gotten right in his face at the end of what she said. It may have been the angle, the alcohol, or the sheer weirdness of the situation. But at that angle Kinji would swear that she was...cute. And that train of thought came to a crashing halt as her fingers dug into three different pressure points "You have to give me more." She repeated, only this time she was using her interrogation voice.

"Of course Captain. Take as many as you want." She flash stepped the 4 feet over to his fridge and piled the brown bottles into her arms until she could carry no more. She departed his quarters with nearly a dozen bottles in her arms and one in her teeth. He went to sleep 15 minutes later after restocking his refrigerator.


	3. Hangovers and Subordinates

**A/N sorry for the lack of action, next chapter will have more of the violence Bleach fans have become accustomed to.**

* * *

When he woke up at 5am the next morning he dragged himself over to his desk and saw that his load of paperwork was still there. After toying with the idea of setting it on fire he went to the fridge to grab some nice, cold orange juice. The door opened more quietly than usual. No clinking glass bottles. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and took that first sip of the morning. Then he went to put the juice back and marveled at how peaceful the morning was. And how empty his fridge was. No bottles whatsoever. Just his OJ, a few apples, and a package of instant ramen. But no booze. His home-made, painstakingly crafted mead. It was absent from his fridge. Wait, there was a small note taped to one of the drawers. **This beverage has been confiscated by the Onmitsukido on behalf of Squad 2 Captain Sui-Feng. Have a nice day.** He blinked a few times and tossed the card in the trash.

_**The jerks didn't even ask. Good thing I've got the 4 kegs in the basement.**_ It took him a few seconds before he knocked over his desk, ripped open the trap door, and ran down the stairs. The basement was empty. He went into a brief period of shock. He went back up the stairs, set his desk back up and sat down. Seconds ticked by and he didn't so much as blink.

_My host?_

_**They took it.**_

_Are you well?_

"Those, fascist, thieving, ninja MOTHERFU-" After 33 days of dealing with Squad 3 problems, the personal lives of his subordinates, his own family issues, and partially drunk Captains he'd reached his breaking point. The loss of his 4 year aged mead was too much. The profanity that ripped from his throat was so loud and so full of inconsolable rage that it affected the entire Seireitei. Most Soul Reapers wrote it off as some party or maybe a practical joke. But several individuals were particularly affected by it.

Yamamoto had been up for an hour when he heard the shout. "Sasakibe" His Lieutenant appeared before his desk without question or hesitation.

"Yes?"

"Schedule an appointment for Kinji Kotetsu for today."

"Is this a disciplinary appointment or an informative appointment?"

"We shall see."

Sui-Feng nearly passed back out when she sat up. Her training responded to the violent nature of the cry, but her hangover made her lay back down. She was nauseous, had a splitting migraine, and had no idea why there were 4 wooden barrels in her room.

Captain Unohana and Isane had been up since 3am. Both had trouble sleeping the night through. At a little after 5am they heard a dull roar coming from the Squad 3 barracks and Isane sighed.

"Nii-sama never did cope well with anger."

"You three must have been an interesting family." Unohana said as she sipped her morning tea.

Renji Abarai was still sleeping when Kinji's roar sounded through his barracks. He sat up briefly then laid back down. "Dumbasses trying to give Komamura a bath."

The effect was more pronounced in Division 6. Captain Kuchiki was drinking a cup of traditional green tea. Then all the koi jumped at the same time and his tea cup split in half. He was too far away to actually hear the sound but the sight of what happened made him quirk an eyebrow.

Down at Division 7 Captain Komamura and some of his high ranking officers were engaging in some early morning sword practice when the enormous Captain suddenly clamped his hands over his ears. "Captain! What's wrong?" His second in command, Enjeru Masamune, rushed to his side. The wolfish Captain didn't hear him. All he could hear was "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS"

"Captain!"

"I'm fine. Fine." The Captain shook his head and rubbed one of his ears.

"What was that?"

"I can honestly say I do not wish to know."

At Squad 10 Kinji was actually echoed by the shortest of the Gotei 13's Captains. "MATSUMOTO!" The scream had woken the youngest of the Captains, who discovered that his Lieutenant apparently thought his room needed a more childish touch. Pony posters, taped to the wall by a drunken Rangiku, had been liberally posted around his bedroom.

At Squad 11 Lieutenant Yachiru, who didn't even understand the concept of sleep, went wide-eyed. "Ooooo, Kin-chan said a bad wooooord."

Possibly the most unfortunate of the lot was the Captain of Squad 12, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He was using a sonic amplification system to work on the harmonics of a new invention. He'd taken the liberty of knocking out his entire Squad for the night so they wouldn't make any noise. Then it happened. Kinji's scream, filtered through Mayuri's equipment hit a perfect pitch to cause the Captain auditory agony and shatter much of the glassware in his lab. Things caught fire and he was momentarily deafened.

"What in the blue hell just happened? Nemu!"

"What is it Master Mayuri?"

"Prepare the test case. I'm going to vivisect someone for this. And this time don't forget the labels!"

Squad 13 barracks were actually located fairly close to Squad 3 and the early morning scream was fully audible. The two occupants of the Captain's quarters, Anrak Ushii and Neliel Tu Odelschvank were sharing a bed. The moment the scream reached Neliel's ears she hugged her husband ferociously. The way the scream was distorted by passing through the building made it almost an exact copy of the cry of a Gillian. She instinctively reacted and crushed Anrak to her. "An-chan, look out!" She rolled them out of bed and the back of his head hit the floor with a crack.

"Neliel... can't... breath..." his voice was barely audible due to lack of air and the fact that he was talking into her chest. His zanpakuto spirit was laughing hysterically._ That's what happens when you marry a ditzy blonde, baka. _

"-EEERS." Kinji finally ran out of breath. His anger hadn't subsided in the least, but now it was under control. Ideas of violence and mayhem danced in his head like some demented waltz.

"Sir! Are you alrigh-" His 4th Seat burst into his quarters thinking his superior was under attack. The look in Kinji's eyes froze him to the spot. After a long, fear-filled moment he realized he should be somewhere else. "My a-apologies for disturbing you." He shut the door quietly behind him.

_What are you planning?_

_**Plan? I'm not planning anything.**_

_Lying to me is an exercise in futility. Akin to lying to yourself._

_**I'm not lying. And no one is going to die over this. Matter of fact, I'm not about to storm the Squad 2 barracks and beat several someones to death.**_

The members of the Onmitsukido responsible for the incident were standing in the Squad's main hall above the Maggot's Nest when they heard a knock on the door. They looked at each other in confusion. Either the gates opened or the person seeking entry was turned away. No one ever knocked on the main gate. Not since Kisuke Urahara was exiled anyway.

"Hi there, It's your neighbor Kinji Kotetsu." The Punishment Force drew their swords and took up ambush positions. They knew who was knocking on their door. And the deranged violence the Soul Reaper had in mind wasn't quite hidden by the forced cheer in his voice. "I'm just stopping by to pick up a cup of sugar. Could you open the door? Oh come on, I know you're there." None of the ninjas responded so Kinji kept going. "Alright, not much for hospitality are we? That's just fine I'll open it myself." The head ninja exchanged skeptical looks with his subordinates. The gate was more than a foot thick and reinforced with iron. And the locking mechanism was kido based and required a password. BOOM, the door shook as something hit it with tremendous force. The second boom split the wood of one door. Then the iron bent. Pieces began falling out of the door.

"Sir, with all due respect. Are you sure about the ambush plan? I mean, is it really plausible to ambush someone who not only know we're here, but is actively beating down a door designed to withstand an invasion?"

"And what plan would you suggest? If we let him past us the Captain will tie us to stakes and leave us in Hueco Mundo."

"Why don't we just give him his stuff back?"

"The Captain ordered us to retrieve those items. If we give them back she'll kill us."

"She was drunk when she gave the order!"

"Who was drunk?" Captain Sui-Feng asked, having heard the commotion she came running. She was only half dressed and her hair was all over on one side. She rubbed her head to alleviate the headache.

"Oh, um uh." The ninja who had made the comment floundered for a believable lie when a piece of iron flew off the door and knocked him out cold. Everyone looked back at the door where the somewhat battered hand of Kinji Kotetsu had finally broke through.

"Hey guys, sorry this is taking so long. Don't bother moving, I'll be right there." The cheer in his voice came off as manic. Everyone heard the change in tone when he asked them not to move. What was left of the door was blown in by Kinji's final strike.

"Kinji Kotetsu, what is the meaning of this?!" Sui-Feng demanded.

"Oh, hey! Captain Sui-Feng!" He smiled and the sight of it was horrendous. His eyes were too wide and his smile showed too many teeth. "I just came to get my mead back. You know, brown bottle, bee on the front, tastes like God's whiskey? I want it back. All four kegs."

"What are you talking about?" Kinji's left eye twitched. His flash step was fast. Almost as fast as Sui-Feng could manage. He shoved the note the ninjas had left in Sui-Feng's face.

"They took my mead. Give it back now please." Even through her hangover Sui-Feng was able to connect the dots. She looked over at the higher ranking officers.

"You idiots. You're paying for the repairs to the door. Come on Kotetsu, I'll get you your mead." If she'd been feeling better she might have made an issue of things. But she just wanted the noise to go away.

"There he is! Nemu, make sure you have the sample cases ready." Mayuri Kurotsuchi had arrived at Squad 2 after analyzing the voice print of the scream that had damaged his lab. "You know, as a scientist I've never put much stock in ideas like "Chance" or "Luck". But something like this may count as circumstantial evidence for some kind of probability based phenomena."

"Oh look, it's Mayuri the Butcher. Remind me why I didn't kill you a hundred years back?" Kinji's smile was very nearly as unnerving as Mayuri's own.

"I always detested that nick-name. Butcher. As if any mere butcher has the precise and finely honed surgical skills that I possess." With three aggravated Captains in the same room the Punishment Force was having a hard time breathing. When Anrak Ushii walked in through the broken gate with his Lieutenant beside him he found himself looking at a 3 way stand-off. "And now one of Zaraki's thugs decides to interrupt. So tedious."

"Captain Ushii? I know why everyone else is barging into my barracks this morning, what's your excuse?" Sui-Feng asked, flinching at the loudness of her own voice.

"Neliel said she heard a Menos cry earlier this morning coming from this Division 3. We followed the reiatsu trail here. When we saw the gate blown in we came in to find out what happened. Speaking of which...?" He got a chorus of answers, none of which were easily interpreted.

"40 years of my life was stolen by ninjas!"

"I'm just about to collect some samples from a soon to be expired specimen."

"I never bothered to develop an immunity to alcohol."

Anrak and Neliel both blinked. "Um, did you understand any of that?" Anrak asked his wife.

"No, but I think they've all gone coopy."

"No no, it's "loupy" or "coo coo". But yeah, I think there's a bunch of marbles missing from this particular bag." Anrak eyed the two Captains and the 3rd Seat. Mayuri was a clinical psychopath. He wasn't sure what Sui-Feng was. Besides scary. And Kinji seemed to be having some kind of mental breakdown. He needed to diffuse the tension in the room or Bad Things were going to happen.

_**How can I get them to settle down? **_Anrak thought.

_I'm pretty sure Sui-Feng and the killer would relax if we killed the clown._

_**As much fun as that sounds like, killing another Captain is- wait. Why'd you call that guy "killer"?**_

_You weren't listening to Kiyone when she and the other nut read you morning briefing, were you. Her big brother was the old man's left hand before getting his promotion._

The young Captain put that nugget of information aside and focused on why he couldn't kill Mayuri. _**I can't kill him because Yamamoto would turn me into a smudge on the ground. That's it!**_

"I wonder what Head-Captain Yamamoto would think about this." The reactions he got were everything he could hope for. Mayuri flinched and shot him a dirty look. Sui-Feng rubbed her eyes. But best of all was the paleness that swept over Kinji's face. That fear pulled him back to sanity.

"Enough of this. Here is what is going to happen. Captains Kurotsuchi and Ushii. You will both return to your Squads or I will lodge a complaint in the time honored style of the Onmitsukido. Kotetsu, you will take your cursed drink and return to your paperwork." Kinji paled further. Sui-Feng was widely known for her cruelty and she expressed it in both obvious and subtle ways. "Oh, and Kotetsu-" he looked back at her looking like a man on his way to be executed. "-if you find a way to control your temper then my offer still stands." Kinji nodded his head and everyone went their way. Anrak and Nel had been kind enough to help him carry his mead back to the Squad 3 barracks. He explained the situation to them, leaving out the less necessary details.

"You've been doing paperwork for all 3 top positions in your Squad? That's insane!"Anrak shook his head. "Have you had any free time in the last month?" The 3rd seat shook his head. He kept glancing in Neliel's direction. He knew she was an ally, it was news all over the Seireitei. But he'd never actually seen an arrancar before. He was just subtle enough about it that Anrak didn't notice.

"And a hell butterfly just informed me I have a meeting with the Head Captain in half an hour. This has been a very bad month." They went their separate ways after dropping off the liqueur. Kinji practically forced a dozen bottles on the two of them in gratitude. Not that Anrak needed much convincing.

* * *

"I take it you know why you've been called here." the ancient warrior asked calmly.

"My inadequate coping strategies?" if he had been capable Yamamoto would have smiled.

"Yes. While your outrage over the violation of your quarters and theft of your property is understandable, your reaction was entirely inappropriate." Kinji hung his head.

"I submit to any punishment you see fit to levy."

"I doubt you will see it as such. I am appointing someone to help you maintain Squad 3 until you take the position of Captain and can appoint officers yourself. You may come in." The door to Yamamoto's office opened and a young woman in an onmitsukido uniform walked in. For a moment Kinji thought it was Sui-Feng. The hair was very similar but her eyes were a dark green. Her hair was cut short and messy like Sui-Feng's except she had no braids.

"This is Lin of the Feng family. She is a cousin of Captain Sui-Feng and the 8th Seat of Squad 2. She will be your adjudant until things are more manageable." Lin bowed to him.

"Has the Captain of Squad 2 been notified?"

"She was the one who made the selection." Kinji chewed on that information for a moment. What was that conniving spymaster trying to accomplish? Then he bowed to Lin.

"It will be an honor to work with a member of the Feng family." he said politely.

"The honor is mine, 23rd head of the Kotetsu family." Kinji's eyes widened. No one outside a few family members knew that. His younger brother had been publicly declared the clan head but he had taken his family's throne by rite of conquest so the actual authority lay with him.

"I'd appreciate it if you simply address me by my name. My family business is not something I am willing to bring into public light." she gave a small, superior smile.

"Of course, Kotetsu-sama." Yamamoto dismissed them and Kinji walked back to the Squad 3 barracks with his new subordinate in tow. She insisted on walking a pace behind him in the old mannerisms of the noble houses.

"So, Lin. How long have you been working under Captain Sui-Feng?"

"A little more than 40 years, but I was part of the Onmitsukido for 90 years."

"Then your abilities in Hakuda and Zanjutsu should be fairly polished. Squad 3 has typically been known for Kido and Zanjutsu, if you can handle the Zanjutsu training for the unranked Soul Reapers then I can handle the Kido training. I'll try not to pass off more paperwork to you than is absolutely necessary." when they were at the barracks he showed her to the Lieutenant's quarters and provided her with a few necessities. Bedding, ink and brushes, and a small desk and chair set that he had borrowed from another officer. "This living area is yours to do with as you like. Morning Zanjutsu training for Squad 3 begins at 8am and the other officers will assist you. Lunch is at noon and Kido training begins at 1pm. Oh, and watch your back. Squad 3 is known for its'" he considered his words for a moment, "playful attitude. If you find yourself needing to discipline your subordinates bring the matter to my attention and I'll handle it."

"Of course, Kotetsu-sama." Lin said. Her tone was even and neutral, in the manner of camouflage that all members of the Onmitsukido learn. Kinji missed a number of things from his time there, but that was something he didn't miss. It got on his nerves when he was there and time hadn't changed that. But if it actually allowed him to get rid of some of his paperwork then he could deal with it.

When they arrived it was nearly 8am. Kinji called the Squad together and they reported almost immediately. Rumors of what happened when he got angry had spread quickly. "Good morning everyone! I would like to introduce Lin. She will be assisting me in running Squad 3 for the next few months. I expect you to welcome her and respect her authority." Lin moved to stand in front of him.

"I expect to get to know each of you in the coming months. I will be your Zanjutsu instructor starting today." she started to bow then disappeared into a flash step. She reappeared behind the Squad with a shirasaya in hand. Each and every one of the Soul Reapers, had a slash in the left arm of their robe. Kinji had counted 6 different flash steps in total. The swordsmanship of the display was incredible. Kinji wasn't sure he could come out uninjured in a straight sword-fight. His Squad was completely dazzled by the display. "And by the end of the month maybe one of you can prevent having your shihakusho shredded in the blink of an eye." The family resemblance between Sui Feng and Lin was particularly strong at that moment. That self-confidence, the imperious stare. The dazzling display of footwork. She certainly lived up to the Feng name. But then he saw something else on her face. Just a bare flicker of emotion that he couldn't place. Then he saw one of his subordinates clutching at his waistline, holding up his pants. She'd cut the sash holding it up instead of notching his sleeve. _Well, I think she'll fit right in. _The miko laughed in his head.

_** I actually agree with you.**_ Kinji though at his zanpakuto.

"Now that you've gotten acquainted, I'll leave you in her more than capable hands."When he turned to leave he heard a few of his subordinates snicker. Once he was safely back in his office he found the note she had stuck to his back.

I have no sense of humor was written in a sharp hand on the paper. He smirked a little and penned a letter to Captain Sui-Feng thanking her for her choice. Then he got started on the paperwork. There was more of it than when he'd left this morning. The first dozen were all from Squad 12 requesting funds from him to replace broken equipment. He tossed them in the metal trash bin and set them on fire. He finished most of the important forms and notices before lunch. He even got to all the quartermaster requisition forms that had piled up on his desk. He felt sorry for the messengers he pressed into service. That much paper would be a pain to lug around. But if he had to go blind reading it then someone else could go lame carrying it. His 5th Seat, Kurata, brought him a tray of food and tea. He thanked the stocky man and ate in relative peace. The sunny day was quiet. He could hear the birds chirping various songs and the warm breeze that blew in his window was pleasant. He used a low level ice kido to keep his office cool but it didn't keep the air fresh. When he finished eating he stretched out and headed to the kido fields. His practice was unusually prank free. Probably because Lin had worked everyone to the bone on their first day. At the end he retired to his office to finally rid himself of the backed up paperwork.

"Hello Kotetsu-sama. I've finished the rest of the paperwork." Lin was sitting at his desk with a cup of tea. She had that look he had seen earlier. The one that preceded mischief.

"You are an exemplary officer Lin. But why do I get the feeling I'm going to pay for all this help?"

"Because you have a decent head on your shoulders and you know how my Captain operates."

"I knew it! What does she want? I can't be her Lieutenant. If she had an issue with it she can take-"

"Lieutenant? What are you talking about? She wants you to make more of that drink for her. At least 1 barrel per year." Things crawled to a stop for a moment in Kinji's world. Then a thought occurred to him and things started making sense again.

"And she wants it before the first day of each year right?" Lin tilted her head slightly.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Not really important." Kinji felt a little smugness at having guessed correctly. Lady Shihouin's birthday was January 1st so she wanted to present it to her as a gift. For a spymaster, Sui-Feng was fairly easy to figure out. 90% calculating cruel pride, 10% fangirl devotion. "No worries, I can do it. But what can I do for you, Lin?" she blinked, confused by the question. Kinji smiled at her. She'd been in an environment of suspicion and eye for an eye too long. She'd stopped thinking of things like no strings attached gifts

"W-what?"

"I want to know what I can do for you. Even if you're only here on orders your presence allows me to have a life outside of work. I owe you for that." he bowed deeply to her. "Thank you."

"I- um. You don't have to- please stop bowing like that." She was clearly unused to being treated with any kind of deference. Working under Sui-Feng did that to a person.

"As you wish." he stood up and checked the clock. 6pm and he had no paperwork, no Squad 3 problems, no officer duties. For the first time since he'd been released from house arrest. And he had no one to go celebrate with. He'd lost many friends simply because of his job. Killing AWOL Soul Reapers tended to make one an outcast. But his association with Sosuke Aizen had pretty much made him a pariah. Any friends he had left had died in the Winter War. Isane needed time, and Kiyone was too preoccupied with her 3rd Seat duties to have much of a social life. After more than 6 months of freedom it finally occurred to him that he was alone.

"You know, there's this ramen stand by Squad 7 I used to go to. Would you like to have a bowl, my treat?" Her eyes got very wide. In her own way she was an easygoing, playful kind of person. But she had been an assassin so long that simple personal interaction was outside her comfort zone. Within the structures of command and martial training she could relax and have fun. But going to eat with someone outside of that kind of structure? All of the confidence, surety, and superiority drained out of her body language. Kinji noticed and held up his hands. "But you don't have to if you don't want to." he thought that having an out would make her more comfortable. It had the opposite effect. She had no idea what the social protocols were in a situation like this. She started stammering out an decline to his invitation when Aoki burst in the room. Both Kinji and Lin had him pinned to the ground with a sword at his throat before the lovesick young man could blink. When Kinji had a second to take in his face the 3rd Seat relaxed and sheathed his zanpakuto. Lin followed his lead but stepped to the open door almost immediately.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Kotetsu-sama." then she bolted back to her own quarters. Aoki was still laying on the ground and looked dazedly at his superior. Then back in the direction Lin had fled. He put 2 and 2 together but decided they made 5.

"I'm so sorry sir! I didn't mean to scare off your girlfriend." Kinji's jaw dropped. He shoved his mouth into third gear rather than let the awkward silence continue.

"She's my subordinate and we'd just finished the Squad's paperwork. She was on her way out when you barged in. Speaking of which, why in the hell did you bust into my office?"Kinji said, speaking faster than he normally did

"I wanted to thank you for giving Isane my letter."

"And I'll thank you to keep that to yourself. If she knew I'd brought it she'd have

burned it. Now come on, we're going to get some dinner." He grabbed the collar of his subordinate's shihakusho and started dragging him toward Division 7.

* * *

"This is good!" Aoki said in disbelief. Kinji was too busy enjoying the chashu pork belly in his bowl of ramen to agree. The little ramen hut was a somewhat guarded secret among Division 7 but it was also fairly expensive. The rank and file wouldn't be able to eat there often. Officers got substantially better pay and Kinji had a good deal saved up. He had also been around long enough to know many of these little secrets. He used to have a few friends in Division 7, once upon a time.

"Stay alive long enough and you find a few special places around the Seireitei." Kinji slurped down some noodles and tried to come to terms with the last few days. He was on his way to being a Captain, he had a few people he might be able to count as friends some day, and his sister might actually talk to him some time in the near future. Things were finally looking up. "But the mortal world had so much better food. I was there 20 years ago and I found this place called Pizza Shack. I'm still not sure exactly what I had to eat but it was incredible."

"I've never had a mission there." Aoki said. Kinji raised an eyebrow.

"You're a 10th seat. You should have had at least one patrol in the living world."

"I haven't been an officer that long." Aoki took a sip of water. "I was promoted three months ago. The 3rd hasn't been given any missions since then." Kinji seemed to dimly recall signing a form to continue suspending all missions. Something about restructuring. He made a mental note to look into it sometime soon.

"Well, I can fix that for you. Assuming you pass the comprehensive exam I'm setting up for next month." Aoki choked a little on his ramen. Kinji his his smile behind his water glass.

"Exam?" Aoki asked, still sputtering.

"I'm putting a competence exam into place for anyone who is going to the world of the living. Do you know how many good soldiers we lose there every year?" Aoki shook his head. "45. All of them officers. Granted most of them aren't in the top ten of their Division." Kinji gave a sleight salute to Aoki with his water glass. "But if I can help it none of my officers will be dying there."

"I don't want to be the downer here." Aoki started. Kinji cut him off.

"I know. I can't save everyone. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try."

"That seems unreasonable-" Kinji gave the younger man a hard look.

"I've been around a while. There was a time when I thought like you. Maybe you could sleep soundly after not doing everything you could to save one of your own, I couldn't. Trust me Aoki. Things like that don't make your life easier to live." he gulped down his ramen broth and left some money on the counter. "C'mon, there's something I need to show you." Aoki took a moment to finish his meal and followed his future Captain. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. Small wooden boards stood up a few feet high from the ground they were planted in. Each one bore a name. They weren't the only one there. A couple members of the 7th stood in front of different graves. They were empty of course, but that wasn't the point. Memory was the point, and Division 7 always honored their fallen. After a while it had become a space for anyone to place a memorial.

"What is all this?" Aoki asked. Division 3 didn't have anything like this. The place was kind of disturbing to him. Everyone who made it out of the Academy had at least one friend or acquaintance dead within the first few years of their service. Aoki was no exception.

"A memorial for the fallen. I put five of these here myself. This was the first one." Kinji put his hand on a particularly old memorial. "He graduated at the same time I did. He died because I made a stupid mistake." Kinji walked to another plaque. "She was a 4th Division medic who went with me and a few others on patrol in the outer Rukon. I was injured by a trap set by some two bit criminals. Stupid, sloppy. Dead because I wasn't sharp enough or strong enough for the missions I was assigned. No more." Kinji's eyes were heavy when he looked at the memorials. Aoki was too off balance to react. He'd been lead to believe his superior was a heartless killer. It's what everyone was saying. Now he found out that this killer had placed and regularly visited memorials to fallen friends. But something else gnawed at him. Curiosity. Kinji had said he'd placed five markers here. He'd only talked about two.

"What about the other three, Kotetsu-sama?" Kinji gave him a cold, flat look. Aoki froze. There was no reiatsu behind, no scowl or baring of teeth. But the officer of the Gotei 13 felt that his survival was suddenly in question. His superior didn't say a word and walked past him, moving in the direction of Division 3's barracks. Aoki remembered to breathe a moment later. But his curiosity hadn't abated. He wasn't a particularly courageous man, but sometimes his inquisitive mind pushed him to action where inaction would be best. "Kotetsu-sama?" he said again, making it clear his question hadn't been answered. Aoki stared at the silver covered head as it slumped forward slightly. Aoki noticed the Division 7 Soul Reapers watching them and listening.

"I killed them." was all Kinji said. Then he continued to walk away. Aoki didn't follow immediately. There was some merit to the rumors after all. Meet the new boss, just like the old boss.


	4. Death and Memories

85 years ago-Outer Rukongai

"You could just let me go." The noblewoman said. She had run herself ragged fleeing from the Seireitei. But it wasn't the torn clothes, disheveled hair, or smudges of dirt that dimmed her beauty. It was the malice plain on her face. "That old bastard doesn't deserve your loyalty. None of them do. You're a noble, just like me. We shouldn't be taking orders from those decrepit fools." She held a long wooden box in one hand and her wakizashi in the other. Her robes were that of an ordinary Soul Reaper, now more than a little worn. She had nothing on her to indicate nobility.

"Who put you up to this? You had to know they'd find out and send someone." He didn't recognize her as a prominent member of a noble family. Hairi Saito wasn't listed as a nobel in Soul Society's files. As the heir to the Kotetsu name he knew all the major players of the other three Great Houses. He'd never seen her before. She didn't have the Shihouin eyes or the Kuchiki bone structure or the golden hair of the Tenshin. And she certainly wasn't a Kotetsu. She had to be an adopted noble. But from which family? If he could draw the conversation out, make her talk more, she might let him know.

"Sure. That's why I ran all the way out here. I didn't think your nose would be so sharp, dog." That remark stung, but Kinji had learned patience. He started circling her, adding a little psychological pressure. He had to take a chance, try to guess which of the houses

"Whoever sent you knew you wouldn't succeed. They probably planned to kill you once you brought them the treasure. I knew the Shihouin were ruthless but that's just cruel." The moment of confusion on her face told him he'd guessed wrong.

"You don't know." she said. A smile split her face. "You came all the way out her without knowing who wanted me to steal this?" the woman shook the box a little. Kinji flinched. He'd taken a risk and it had backfired.

"Not the Shihouin. You're certainly not a member of my House. That leaves the Kuchiki or the Tenshin." The woman lowered her blade and looked him in the eyes.

"Why side with them?" the woman asked. "With this we can finally wipe away the remnants of the Gotei 13 that stole the Seireitei from us 1000 years ago. We have a right to rule this world. That mob of murderers stole it from us." Kinji didn't say anything. He knew the history as well as anyone. He knew how things had once been, but he also knew that a return to noble rule was not something he desired. If it came to that the Houses would go to war again. Countless souls would be lost and the number of hollows in the living world would increase substantially. Everything would fall apart. He couldn't allow that to happen. He had already paid so much to keep that darker world from coming into being.

"Because for all their sins, they're better for everyone else. For the people in the Rukongai and the living world." Kinji drew his zanpakuto. The woman renewed her pleas.

"Just let me go. You don't have to die for them. Just tell them you failed and no one will ever have to know. Please" Kinji was only barely listening. He was trying to think of a way to take her alive. He needed to know how she got her hands on that box and who ordered her to take it. But that last word had struck a nerve.

"I despise criminals who beg for their lives. You've made your choices, now bear the consequences."

"Drift, Sutendo ha." the woman replied, her wakizashi's blade growing dark. Her reiatsu spiked. Kinji's eyes widened. She was stronger than he'd been lead to believe. Probably stronger than him. For all the intensive training Yamamoto had put him through in order to make him a useful agent, his own reiatsu was about that of a 5th seat. The woman before him was on the lower end of a 3rd seat. She swung her wakizashi and the darkness on her sword peeled off. The leaf shaped bits of shadow zipped toward him as a significant speed. Kinji dodged to his right as they whistled by but he felt one of them whistle past his left ear. He flash stepped behind his target to buy a few seconds.

"Capture, Seishin no Kagami." Kinji muttered, releasing his own zanpakuto. His katana glowed silver and reformed itself into a round, polished mirror bordered by black steel. With his released weapon now attached to his left forearm he went on the attack. More dark leaves flew at him and he blocked them on his mirror. Haimi was clutching the box tightly under her arm, a substantial handicap. He thought he might be able to get in close and deliver a solid hit. He tried to rush her but she dodged and continued to fling leaves at him. This was a bad match-up for him. She was obviously a mid-range fighter, fully capable of keeping distance between herself and her opponent long enough for her zanpakuto to cripple or kill her enemy. Kinji's own specialty was close combat. His mastery of Hakuda made him absolutely lethal once he was in arms reach. But against someone of equal or greater skill he would never get that close on footwork alone. So he would have to rely on the abilities of his zanpakuto.

"Anki." he whispered to the mirror while aiming the weapon at his opponent. He heard his zanpakuto spirit sigh in pleasure. The mirror pulsed with silver light.

"You should have just walked away, traitor!" the woman screamed in anger and battle lust. Another barrage of leaves followed. This time Kinji wasn't as fast and one of the sharp projectiles struck his left hand. He grunted in pain but kept moving. His enemy grinned in triumph. "Is this really the best they could send? The Gotei 13 is weaker than I thought!" Kinji didn't react to the insult, he was more concerned with the numbness now spreading from his wound to the rest of his hand. But such sacrifices were necessary. _**Ready?**_ He asked his zanpakuto.

_Of course, my host. All you need do is ask._ He could hear the smugness in Miko's voice. She enjoyed any opportunity to be used, and for reasons he didn't understand she also enjoyed his pain. She said it was her window into mortality. Whatever that meant.

"I'm just the first. If I don't report in the Onmitsukido will hunt you down." he ducked behind a tree and heard half a dozen _thunks_ as the kido projectiles sank into the wood.

"If they're as pathetic as you, I'm not too worried. Hado 4-" Kinji flash stepped away from the tree just before the bolt of lightening split the tree in half. Then he flash stepped again to close in on his opponent. He caught her off guard for a moment. He threw a hard punch with the only hand he could still feel enough to make a fist. The knuckles of his right hand clipped her shoulder before she managed to dodge and put more distance between the two of them. Just a graze but Hairi could feel a bruise beginning to form on her shoulder. It wasn't enough to make her drop the box but it definitely stung. If he had connected solidly Kinji would have shattered her shoulder. She responded with a flurry of poisonous leaves. A few of them tore the sleeve of his robe but none hit flesh.

"Pretty fragile. Can't even take a punch from someone as pathetic as me." he was back behind a tree. Her zanpakuto was deadly but the speed of her attacks could be dealt with. He felt a pulse of hot pain from his left hand. When he glanced at it he drew in a breath. The hand had begun turning black and purple. The poison was spreading. He was out of time to play it safe and wear her down.

"Even a useless thug knows how to throw a punch. You probably don't know how to do anything else." she taunted. Any indecision about what he should do vanished from Kinji's mind.

Kinji jumped out from his cover and threw up a kido barrier between him and his enemy. Once again, he needed time to enact his zanpakuto's most potent ability. He held out his right hand and spoke loudly. "Drift. Sutendo ha!" A wakizashi with a blackened blade appeared in his right hand. Hairi nearly dropped her own sword in surprise. A moment later she was the one in retreat from black leaves. She was completely off balance mentally. What kind of zanpakuto had this sort of ability? She hadn't thought something like that could exist. She swung her sword in a backhand and more leaves filled the air. The trees around the clearing were peppered with the projectiles before long and neither soul reaper seemed to be running out. The silver haired soul reaper moved methodically, positioning himself for his endgame. He needed to get on her left side. In some ways her felt a little guilty doing this, it really was a cheap trick. But he could feel guilty later. Right now he was fighting to survive. Just one little stumble on her part and he would have his victory. His next barrage of leaves was aimed at her feet. She jumped a few feet off he ground and landed with her left side facing Kinji. Close enough, he decided.

"Hado 1: Shō." the bolt of force hit her left ankle and swept her foot out from under her. That instant of opening was what Kinji had been waiting for. He flash stepped to her and swept her right leg out. She hit the ground with a thud. He stabbed his fake zanpakuto through her right forearm to pin it to the ground. She screamed, too much in pain to respond strategically but she did manage to grab at Kinji's shihakusho, hoping to wrestle him off of her. He slammed his right fist into her throat, making her effectively mute. The fight was as good as over. But Kinji had the scars to remind him not to drop his guard until he was back home. He grabbed the hand clutching his shihakusho and shoved it aside. Kinji stood up. Each ragged breath he took seemed more difficult than the last. He looked at his left arm. Dark lines had spread from his wound to halfway up his forearm. If those lines of corruption reached his chest he would probably die. Since he'd just silenced the only soul reaper who knew how this ability worked, he was forced to ask Miko.

_**Is there a way to neutralize the poison?**_

_Of course. Stab your hand with her zanpakuto and the sword will take it's poison back._

_**Any way that doesn't involve more blood and pain from me? **_Miko went silent but he could practically hear her smiling. _**Sooner or later I'm going to find a way to get rid of you.**_

Kinji picked up the fallen zanpakuto and slid the blade point into the top of his left hand. Almost immediately he felt an unpleasant burning sensation and saw his blackened flesh return to it's normal color. He tossed the stolen blade aside as soon as it finished drawing out the poison. He hated that feeling, wielding other zanpakuto. It felt wrong, like walking into someone's house uninvited or reading someone's diary. He hated the feeling and he hated Miko for making it necessary. But there was nothing he could do about it right now. All he could do was finish this mission.

She'd dropped the box when she tried to grab at him. He punched her once in the head and she crumpled. It would be dumb to turn his back on her and allow her to retaliate. The ornate wooden box, a little more than 3 feet long, was laying on the soft forest grass next to his fallen opponent. This was the most important part of his mission. But he felt sick to his stomach when he picked up the box to examine it. It felt light. He turned it around in his hands and found the lock on it broken. And, predictably, he found it empty when he opened it. "Damn it!" He yelled.

"Damn you." He heard his downed opponent croak out. He turned around to find her holding her zanpakuto point down against her chest with her left hand.

"Don't-" she plunged the sword into her heart and died. Kinji could only watch helplessly as any chance he had of finding the stolen relic bled out into the ground.

* * *

"Unacceptable! This mission was your responsibility." The words stung. This had been his first mission for the Head-Captain after leaving the Onmitsukido. 50 years of training hadn't paid off in the way he'd hoped.

Kinji was kneeling before Yamamoto, not because it was the proper protocol, but because he couldn't stand. His Captain's anger had brought him to his knees the moment he reported the news. He'd brought the box back and buried Hairi in the forest. Sweat dripped from his nose onto the wooden floor. Much more of this and Yamamoto would have to find a new 7th seat. He struggled to draw in a breath and succeeded in singeing his lungs. Then the pressure eased off and he started breathing again.

"I agree, sir. But I didn't come back completely empty handed. I have information you need to hear." He told his superior everything Hairi had said. Related every suspicion he had and compared it to what was going on among the noble houses. "If the Shihouin aren't responsible then it would be the Kuchiki or Tenshin."

"Or one of the minor houses." Yamamoto said angrily. He was clearly not impressed with the scraps his subordinate had brought back. "That relic is dangerous in anyone's hands. But if it falls into the hands of one of the discontent noble houses-"

"But it won't awaken right away. The relic my father stole was dormant for almost 100 years before he started to use it. Even then it only awakened when I-" Kinji couldn't continue. What he'd done was too fresh. Even after 50 years the words still caught in his throat.

"When you killed him." Yamamoto said, not unkindly. Kinji just nodded. "These relics have fallen out of memory, their very existence is barely recorded. We know next to nothing about how they operate or what they require. Speaking of which..." Kinji understood. This was the other part of his job. He reported to the Head-Captain every interaction between him and his false zanpakuto. They needed to understand what the artifact was and what it could do.

"It's sadistic. Other than that it functions like a normal zanpakuto." Yamamoto looked closely at him. "Sir?" Kinji was becoming uncomfortable with the way he was being scrutinized.

"Do you feel different?" The old man asked. Kinji stopped to think about it. He had changed, but how much of it was Miko and how much was just life.

"I don't know." Kinji admitted. He was a long way from who he had been. He could barely remember who he'd been before he'd taken the mirror. He couldn't remember his zanpakuto spirit before Miko either. He knew he was different though. Everyone who knew him from before his father had...died had told him as much. It was a few minutes before Kinji could articulate his answer. Yamamoto waited patiently for his subordinate to form his opinion. An answer that was never to come. The silence in the room was broken by a knock on the office door.

"Come in." The Head-Captain said. A brown haired man with green rimmed glasses and a white haori slid the door open. His calm eyes took in the scene before him in an instant and he bowed his head.

"I apologize Head-Captain. I can come back later." the tall man turned to leave.

"No. I called you here for a reason, Captain. I have a favor to ask." Kinji looked at the Captain in front of him. He didn't recognize the man. But several new Captains had been appointed after the desertion about 20 years back. He must have been one of the new ones. "This is Kinji Kotetsu. I need you to keep an eye on his mental condition. He will check in with you once a week until such a time as I have the answer I'm looking for."

"Head Captain. There are a number of soul reapers who could-"

"This situation demands discretion. You are the only Captain with the appropriate skills for this task. Several of your subordinates have written to me about your counseling skills."

"Of course." The Captain walked over to Kinji who stood up and bowed to his superior.

"Kinji Kotetsu, 7th seat of Division 1. It's an honor to meet you, Captain."

"Sosuke Aizen, Captain of Divsion 5. I look forward to working with you." the Captain extended his hand to Kinji with a smile that came easily to him. The younger soul reaper shook the hand and returned the Captain's smile.

* * *

Kinji woke with a start. It took him a minute to recognize that he was in his living quarters. The dream had been so vivid. His heart was racing like he'd just been in combat. He wiped his forehead and his hand came away damp with sweat. Once he'd calmed down he realized that the dream wasn't too surprising. That was the day everything was truly set into motion. The reason Yamamoto had made sure his abilities were not public knowledge, the reason he'd placed Kinji over an entire Division. It was all to draw out the house that held the relic. He had pursued it using the connections of his noble house, had made it known that he was personally looking for it. The threat of him having an entire Division to command and the authority of a Captain would probably force the thieves to act.

It was a desperate plan, but better than just waiting for the culprit to start a rebellion with the power of the relic. Kinji looked at his own relic, the mirror that had merged with his zanpakuto. No, the mirror that had possessed his zanpakuto. He wanted desperately to see his real zanpakuto again. To feel the rightness of it in his hands. But neither Yamamoto nor the Kidou Corps had been able to remove Miko from his zanpakuto. He had briefly toyed with the idea of having Division 12 take a crack at it. But only briefly. Kurotsuchi hated Kinji possibly more than Kinji hated him. He would destroy Kinji's zanpakuto, whether or not it was necessary to remove the relic. If he decided to cooperate at all.

The weary and restless Soul Reaper laid back down and closed his eyes. He needed all the rest he could get. Tomorrow he would begin training 40 new members of the 3rd Division. And in just one short month he would take the Captain's proficiency exam. With Lin helping him and his subordinates finally showing him a little trust, time had flown by. He could get used to this life. It wasn't easy and it wasn't always pleasant. But it was beginning to feel more and more like home.

* * *

That same night, only a few miles from where Kinji slept, the members of a certain noble family held an audience with one of the most skilled assassins that the underworld had to offer. Takeshi faced the nobles from behind a screen. Even though he was being employed by them he didn't know which noble family he was working for. A standard precaution in case he failed. He wasn't insulted, he was wearing a mask himself, and for similar reasons. If his employers were to be arrested they wouldn't be able to identify him.

"Have our terms been explained to you?" One of the nobles asked. The voice was feminine and almost musical.

"Yes." Takeshi answered simply. They wanted him to assassinate a member of the Gotei 13. A ranking officer in fact. A member of the family would accompany him in order to retrieve something the officer carried.

"It's a simple enough job. Kill the silver haired bastard and let our man find what we're looking for." Another of the nobles said. The voice was older and considerably less melodic than the first. An old man's voice.

"A former member of the Punishment Force won't have a problem with this. Will you?" The figure in the middle said. The voice was muffled. Like the person was speaking through heavy cloth.

"No." the hired killer said plainly. He never did have much use for words. Most of what he needed to say could be said with the edge of his zanpakuto. He noted a new spiritual pressure entering the room. The footfalls were heavy and made no attempt at stealth. The assassin didn't even bother to look over his shoulder at the newcomer.

"Akamatsu will accompany you. Take every precaution to ensure he stays safe. If he isn't able to retrieve the item then you will not receive payment." The woman on his left said.

"And it goes without saying, botch this and we'll kill you." The old man threatened. _**If it goes without saying, why bother saying it? Idiot.**_ The hired killer thought.

"Why now? I'm only a few months from finishing the last project you brought me." The heavyset Akamatsu asked grouchily.

"We appreciate your efforts. But if you succeed you'll have another project to work with." Came the muffled voice. Akamatsu licked his lips absent-mindedly. If Takeshi had been your average assassin he would have been taking mental notes of this conversation. Then again, if he were an average assassin he would have died a long time ago. His method for staying alive was simple:Take a job, do the job, make sure anyone who double crosses you ends up missing. Everything else was immaterial.

"You may devise the solution to out problem in whatever way you see fit." The muffle voice said. "But it must happen before the next 30 days are up." Takeshi's head came up. That was a short time-table. Barely enough time to learn his target's routines and habits. He decided to ask, not because he was curious, but because the time-table affected his ability to perform.

"Why 30 days?" he asked softly. The reaction was immediate and violent.

"That's out business, you mangy, dirty-blooded-!" The old man was clearly about to launch into an angry tirade. But the muffled voice stopped him cold.

"Jii-san." the figure in the middle cautioned. He saw the figure of the old man stiffen then slouch forward as if bowing his head in apology. "After 30 days the problem will become too high-profile for your methods to have a beneficial outcome for us. Can you complete your job in that time?"

"Yes." Takeshi said without hesitation.

"Do not let us detain you, gentlemen." the woman behind the screen said pleasantly. The lamps in the room were snuffed out and darkness fell in the small hut. The three nobles had apparently vanished. No trace of their reiatsu remained. Takeshi and Akamatsu walked out of the small hut and into the cool fall night. The field they were in was technically owned by Division 12 but wasn't officially in use. Once they were outside Akamatsu tossed a cell phone to Takeshi.

"Call me when you need me." the hefty soul reaper said. "I can get away from my duties whenever I need to so don't hesitate if Lady Luck starts smiling at you." Takeshi looked at the blocky little device. It looked nothing like the Denreishinki issued to soul reapers in the living world. It only had two buttons and no screen. Akamatsu saw Takeshi looking the thing over and grimaced. Had he been paired with a moron? "Green button calls me, red button hangs up. Press them both at once and it self-destructs." Takeshi put it inside his stolen shihakusho and left without speaking a word to Akamatsu. "What a dick." the red-haired scientist commented before heading back to the Division 12 barracks.

**A/N**

**Well, the fight scene was a little short. But there will be longer ones coming up shortly. On another note, the next chapter will be a week or two from now at the earliest. Research paper takes priority over fan fiction. Reviews and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And to answer a question, yes I will take pairing suggestions, assuming they are reasonably possible.**


	5. Spirits and Siblings

**Division 1, 28 days before the Captain's exam**

Kinji never really liked tea ceremonies. But here he was, sitting patiently on his mat and watching tea leaves steep in water. Growing up he had been forced to attend them as part of his education as a noble. But along with memories of his true zanpakuto, his memories of how he got through such boring events were simply gone. For the moment, he would make it through on sheer willpower. Yamamoto was leading the ceremony while Kinji, Captain Unohana, and Captain Kuchiki sat quietly. He let his mind focus on the sound of the whisk, on the slow, deliberate liturgy of civilization. He had so much on his mind begging for his attention. All the hustle and work of being the acting Captain of Division 3 almost made him forget his real mission. But that wasn't all. There was a vague uneasy feeling that had been steadily growing He tried to clear his mind of everything but the swishing of the brush.

He slowed his breathing and he entered a kind of meditative state. Then the swish of the brush was replaced with the sound of ocean waves. The smell of fresh green tea was replaced with the smell of the sea. Kinji opened his eyes and found himself sitting on the sand in his inner world. To his left was the ocean, to the right was a forest. But right in front of him was the shinto-style temple that housed Miko. Clearly she wanted to have a talk with him. Not so long ago he would have just sat there on the beach until she got tired of waiting and let him leave. But after losing days of time he had learned it was to his benefit to play along. So he stood up and walked through the torii gates.

Something about the temple felt right, like it actually belonged there. But when he pushed open the main doors and saw his zanpakuto sitting on a cushion toward the back of the shrine, that feeling of rightness twisted into a sickening nausea. The woman in front of him looked like a shrine maiden dressed in red and white holding a mirror. He would have looked her in the eyes if not for the strip of white cloth that covered them. The smell of ocean was replaced by a smokey incense.

"What do you want now?" Kinji asked irritably. Miko tilted her head quizzically. As if the question was simply too stupid to deserve an answer.

"I simply want to converse with you, my host. The events that have been set into motion have placed us both in considerable danger." Kinji's eyes narrowed. None of the ridiculously dangerous and life-threatening situations he'd put himself in over the last century had prompted this reaction.

"You never seemed to care for my safety before." Kinji shot back. "Finally find yourself a heart?" the smile he got in response mocked his suggestion.

"I seem to have grown rather attached to you, my host. For us to be separated now would be undesireable. Don't you agree?"

"If I could rid myself of you by chewing off my own arm I would have already done it. What do you really want, Miko?"

"I want you to remember yourself as you were. Your time among these fools are making you soft." she said scornfully. "I only want what's best for you, my host." Kinji's temper flared dangerously. He heard his knuckled crack as his hands clenched. It was a lie so blatant and so insulting to him that he honestly considered attacking her. But one glance at her mirror tempered his rage with caution. The mirror didn't reflect his own image but rather held the image of a blue hilted zanpakuto. His zanpakuto, the one he'd had before this parasite had attached itself to him. But that was all he could remember. It's name, it's nature, even the weight and balance of it. All gone. His new zanpakuto, Seishin no Kagami, was likely responsible for that.

"So what do you want? Be specific." Kinji demanded. His substantial patience was thin even before he started what seemed like a pointless conversation with his zanpakuto.

"Ask Yamamoto to send you back to your old job. Tell him things aren't going well with Division 3." Kinji blinked. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Not really sure what to say to that." Kinji mumbled. What kind of game was Miko running here? First she wanted him to be a Captain, then suddenly she doesn't. He knew he was being manipulated, he could feel it. But how and to what end remained a mystery to him. No matter how he turned things around in his head he couldn't think of what Miko was after.

"Don't say anything. Just do as I ask." the spirit said calmly.

"That's not really an option. There's no reason for me to agree to that. And even if there was a good reason, I don't like you."

"You can be quite uncouth sometimes." Miko said reflectively. Kinji could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Only around you." he muttered. "You're not going to win this one Miko. Just let me back out." Kinji turned to leave. He made it to the door before Miko's threat stopped him.

"I'll take back bankai." she said calmly.

"Bull. I won out little contest fair and square. You can't take it back." Kinji opened the doors and started when he found Miko standing on the outside of the shrine. Her hand reached forward and sank into his chest. "What the hell?" the shocked soul reaper asked.

"Don't worry, you never remember afterwords." she replied cryptically. Pain flared in his chest and his inner world disappeared in haze of white.

Kinji opened his eyes and heard the swish of the brush Yamamoto was using. He figured he accidentally nodded off for a moment while he was meditating. His head felt a little fuzzy, but that was to be expected after just waking up. He glanced aside at the other two guests to see if they had noticed. If they had they didn't let on. He waited patiently through the rest of the ceremony, even complimenting the old man on the tea. It was strong, stronger than he was used to anyway. But still, it tasted refreshing. As they were leaving he called out to Captain Kuchiki. Something had occurred to him and he wanted to explore this idea.

"Captain, do you have a moment? There's something I would like to discuss with you." Byakuya Kuchiki stopped and looked sidelong at his fellow noble.

"If you have business with the Kuchiki clan I recommend you go through official diplomatic channels." Kinji took the subtle insult in stride.

"It's just a simple question, Kuchiki-sama. No need to sic our diplomats on each other. It goes without saying, if it came to that I would likely die before receiving an answer." Byakuya actually paid Kinji the compliment of facing him.

"What is it?" the head of the Kuchiki clan asked.

"I need to know if you have records of certain artifacts. Central 46's records are...incomplete. So-." he caught himself and amended his word choice. "Aizen destroyed several sections of the records before he made his exit."

"We have comprehensive records of the last 10,000 years of Soul Society's history. If these artifacts have been part of any important events during that time there will be records of it."

"I don't suppose there's any way I could look through those records?"

"I thought you didn't want to involve diplomats." Kuchiki said. Kinji blinked stupidly. Did Byakuya Kuchiki, the man who only had one facial expression just make a joke? Not important, he reminded himself.

"This is related to an assignment given to me by the Head-Captain. Both of us would appreciate you sharing your knowledge." The black-haired nobleman considered that for a moment.

"I will have my clerks look through our archive and bring the relevant records to you. It should only take 3 months or so." Kinji resisted the urge to put a hand to his face. Getting the records was good. But 3 months was a little long for his liking. He was feeling on edge, like he was running out of time. Mentally he chocked it up to the Captain's exam approaching. But no matter what he told himself he couldn't shake the constant nervousness.

"You have my deepest thanks. I am in your debt, Captain Kuchiki." Kinji bowed deeply and Byakuya nodded slightly to him when Kinji stood back up.

"Now, if you're finished asking favors, I have one of my own." Kinji nodded to himself. He'd expected a little _quid pro quo_ from a peer in politics.

"It's only fair. What do you need from me?"

"Your presence at a formal gathering of the four Great Houses. If possible I would like your whole family to attend." A small price to pay. Kinji would happily go along with it. Then it occurred to him that he would have to convince Isane and Kiyone to attend. Prying either of them away from their duties would be difficult at best. But he had some strings he could probably pull to make it happen. Though it would be tougher to get Isane to go along with it. Especially after she and Aoki had a falling out. But he still had one potential ally who would be more than happy to help him push his little sister into a party. Captain Unohana would probably insist on it, and Isane never said no to her Captain.

"No problem. When and where?" the Captain's expression shifted slightly when Kinji switched to his normal mode of speech. A glimmer of disapproval. Kinji caught it and modified his question. "Pardon me. Will I be receiving an official invitation to this gathering?"

"Yes. One should have been sent to Kotetsu manor a short time ago."

"Then we will of course accept the invitation. It has been far too long since the four Houses have all come together. It will be an honor to stand among such august persons once again." He managed to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He knew how to walk and talk like a noble, but it just wasn't him.

"I agree. Then I will expect to see you again in two days time." the 28th head of the Kuchiki clan turned and left. Kinji would have normally headed back to his Division, but he thought it was time to visit his family home.

* * *

**Kotetsu Manor**

"It's good to see you again, Nii-sama." Kinji had heard the greeting dozens, hundreds of times. But he still didn't like it. Especially the way his little brother said it. Despite being dressed in just a standard black shihakusho he was being bowed to by the entire manor staff and every member of his family who lived there. Including his mother and younger brother. Some people might be flattered, others flustered. Kinji just found it irritating.

"Knock it off Jiro." Kinji grabbed his little brother by the collar and hauled him to his feet. "We're family." he wrapped his sibling in a tight hug. A very tight hug. Jiro started tapping frantically on Kinji's back.

"Can't...breathe..." Kinji let go just before Jiro passed out. He took a good look at the acting head of the Kotetsu family. He was still only a little taller than Kiyone. But he would probably get a little taller yet. According to someone from the living world he would appear to be about 16. He was actually over a century old, just an infant when his father, Yukimura Kotetsu, had died.

"I thought you'd outgrown bullying your brother." His mother said with a small smile. Like Kiyone and Jiro, she had shining blonde hair and blue eyes. She was also only a little taller than Kiyone who measured up to about five feet tall. His mother had two inches on her at the most. Kinji bent down a little to give his mother a hug. At six feet and change he was more than a head taller than most of his family. Except for Isane who seemed to have hit some kind of unfortunate genetic jackpot.

"I'll never grow up that much. How have you been?" he held her out at arms length.

"Oh, fine fine. Just gossiping and meddling in people's love lives." Kinji didn't doubt her a bit. He got a little nervous when a sly smile appeared on her face. "I heard the Head-Captain placed a daughter of the Feng family in your Division."

"Lin is only-" Kinji tried to explain. But his mother was having none of that.

"Lin, what a pretty name. Why isn't she here? Are you two not getting along?" Kinji blushed a little.

"Mother." Kinji pleaded. His mother had not been idle in the love lives of her children. All four of them had put up with such antics before and were destined to continue bearing such things until Haru Kotetsu got what she wanted.

"Don't be so bashful. You're into your second century already. Its about time you find a woman and start giving me grandchildren."

"Mother!" Kinji and Jiro admonished. Neither of them wanted this discussion to be had in front of the entire extended family. Jiro knew full well that once she finished with Kinji it was his turn.

"I'm not getting any younger you know. I have four children and none of you are even married."

"It's not that simple. I've been in the trenches for almost a century, Isane is working 14 hour days, Jiro is running the family, and Kiyone is...Kiyone." Kinji tried to explain.

"I met your father while cutting my way out of a crowd of hollows. And I was only 150!" The matron of the Kotetsu family countered. Kinji flinched at the mention of his father.

"Mother, nii-sama hasn't even been home for an hour yet. You could at least let him get settled before you start planning his wedding." Haru finally let her son's hands drop. With a sigh she nodded and addressed one of the maids.

"Yukine, please help Kinji get settled. After that we'll have a full meal." The eyes of all the servants lit up at that proclamation. Once every week the entire mansion, servants and nobles alike, took a meal together. Even the cooks ate at the same time as everyone else. It was part of the family's code of honor. As a noble house they had a responsibility to take care of those under their authority. "And help him pick out decent looking clothes for the party. He's a smart boy but sometimes I wonder if he's colorblind." Kinji blushed again and scowled at his mother a little. But instead of complaining he followed Yukine to his room, leaving his mother and brother to start getting things in order for the dinner. But neither of the nobles immediately departed the main courtyard of the manor.

"Did your brother seem different to you?" Haru asked.

"He did. But I can't quite put a finger on it." Jiro put his hand to his chin and tried to figure out what it was that had unsettled him.

"You're too young to remember, but before he became head of the family your brother was quite the trouble-maker. Playing pranks, hiding when it came time to do work, and always smiling. He changed greatly after Yukimura died. But he didn't even smile when he saw us today. It almost seems like there's less of my son in those eyes every time I see him." Haru's warm eyes suddenly looked very cold. Jiro rarely saw his mother wear such an expression. It made him take a step back. "I want you to send for your sisters, Jiro. Tell them that this is a matter of grave importance and I expect them to be here within a day."

* * *

**Division 4- that afternoon**

"This will be good for you Isane. I can't remember the last time I went to a formal party." Captain Retsu Unohana said. Her Lieutenant had pleaded with her Captain to put her on active duty for the next few day. But Haru Kotetsu had sent a letter to her Captain, anticipating such antics by her oldest daughter.

"But Captain-"

"No Isane, this is not up for discussion. You have a mother who loves you dearly. You really should go home more often." The Captain of the 4th Division sipper her tea and sighed. "Go home for a week. That's an order Isane." Isane Kotetsu bowed to her Captain and went to her room to pack up the few possessions she wanted to take with her. On the way to her room she fidgeted with her hands. She hadn't been home for a long while. Not since before the war. On one hand she did want to see everyone again. On the other hand she didn't want to deal with the usual familial bullying her family subjected her to. And she was nervous about seeing her big brother again. He'd killed their father and lied to her about it for more than a century. She had forgiven him, she knew her brother was a good person at heart. Whatever reason he'd had all those years ago, it must have been a good one. But she still felt weird. She wasn't sure she could deal with that.

"Hey Isane! Mom call you back too?" Kiyone Kotetsu was waiting in her sister's room.

"Yes. I just got the letter an hour ago." Isane started packing up a medicine bag and a spare set of clothes. "Is everyone going to be there?"

"Yeah. Gotta say, I'm not really looking forward to it. Mom's gonna be shoving men in front of us the whole time."

"I hope not."

"Any reason she wouldn't?" Kiyone asked. Isane didn't miss the glint in her sister's eyes.

"No." Isane said mournfully. She'd actually worked up the courage to go on a date with Aoki but it just hadn't worked out. All the date had done was to remind her why she didn't do dates.

"Too bad. It would be nice if one of us came home with a date. You know she's going to bring up grandkids."

"What about Kinji? Isn't he dating Lin?"

"Who knows what's going through his head? If a woman walked up to Kinji wearing a sign saying "date me" he'd still wait a few weeks before talking to her." Kiyone said.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Kiyone. He's just shy." Isane said absentmindedly. She was doing an inventory of her med-pack.

"Or paranoid. I heard he almost killed one of his subordinates because the guy didn't knock before coming into his office."

"He did. But from what Aoki told me, Lin did the exact same thing."

"Sounds like they're made for each other." Kiyone commented. "Wait, was the guy he almost killed the guy you were dating."

"It was only one date." Isane protested weakly. She shouldered her bags. "We should start out now or we won't get there before dark." Kiyone followed her out the door but laughed a little.

"You think we're walking? Does that sound like Mom to you?" Isane was about to ask what she meant when she saw an elaborate coach parked outside her Division's main entrance. One of the Kotetsu family attendants stood by the door and bowed to the sisters.

"Sometimes I forget what she's like." Isane admitted.

**Author's Note: Next chapter is going to be much longer. Unfortunately, not a lot of violence until we get close to the Captain's exam. From there on all the subplots I've put on the stove come to a boil. If you think I've introduced characters with no importance to the story, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.**


	6. Nobles and Revelations

**26 days until the Captain's exam - Kuchiki Manor**

The Kotetsu clan arrived at Kuchiki manor just a few minutes after the appointed time. Byakuya Kuchiki and several of the eldest nobles of the clan stood outside to greet them. Both Byakuya and Kinji wore the crest of their clan as a cloak fastener. The Kotetsu clan crest, like the other three clan crests, was a hexagonal metal pendant with a geometric shape and a flower. A snowdrop flower surrounded by two intersecting triangles.

"We great the Kuchiki clan and thank them for hosting this meeting." Kinji said, bowing low at the waist.

"The Kotetsu clan are honored guests. Please enter with our blessing." Both families processed into the beautifully prepared building. Inside the main hall the two families joined the other two. The Shihouin, Tenshin, Kuchiki, and Kotetsu eyed each other warily. There was no trust and little love lost between the families. At least formally. Kinji saw that the Tenshin was lead by their 18th head. The 19th and 20th had both died in unclear circumstances. The 18th was an ancient and decrepit looking man, and extremely hot tempered by all accounts. He bore no scars of battle, and his reiatsu didn't seem particularly strong. Kinji heard his name announced by one of the Kuchiki nobles as the host family made the formal introductions. "Eiji Tenshin." Before Kinji could take the man's measure the next name announced caught his attention. "Yoruichi Shihouin." Kinji's head whipped to his left. As usual the head of the Shihouin family was wearing an elaborate kimono, hair ornaments, and a silk veil. But he still kicked himself for not recognizing her. Granted, he hadn't seen her in more than a century, but it amazed him he couldn't recognize her by the look in her eyes alone. A lazy, mischievous look unlike anyone he had ever met. "Byakuya Kuchiki." the noble said. But Kinji didn't even bother to look his way. He didn't even notice when his own name was called. His mind was spiraling through possibilities. Yoruichi had returned? What did it mean? The woman had gone AWOL. He'd personally searched Soul Society for her with a kill on sight order. He had spent months slogging through very unpleasant parts of the Rukongai. And now, a century later, she was back and standing there like nothing had happened. But an elbow jostle by his mother brought him back to the present. He had the sense at least, not to start or make it obvious he had let his mind wander away from the present. But from the smug look Yoruichi gave him she knew exactly what had happened.

"This is our first official gathering in more than 50 years. In honor of this event I have prepared a meal suitable for such esteemed guests. Afterwords the official meeting between clan heads and their advisers will begin." Byakuya Kuchiki was a man of his word. Kinji could smell the roasted duck from the main hall. One by one the nobles filed into the adjoining room. Many of them chatted with each other cordially, discussing recent events or other polite trivia. But when Kinji stepped forward he found himself face to face with Yoruichi Shihouin. And he seriously doubted that was simple luck of the draw.

"Lady Shihouin. Enjoying your return to the Seireitei?"

"No." Yoruichi admitted. But then a smile made the corners of her eyes crinkle. "But I think that's about to change. All these uptight nobles in one room?" Kinji missed the implication. The fact that he didn't smile back at Yoruichi, or even try to talk her down from the coming practical jokes made the golden-eyed woman frown. She had known Kinji when he was much younger, long before his father had died. The boy had a trouble-making streak to match her own. She remembered laughing herself sick when two of her messengers returned to the mansion with insulting words inked onto the backs of their clothes. Kinji had painted the chairs he offered to them with the words in reverse, so when they sat down the words were imprinted onto their clothes. When asked about it, all Kinji would say is that their eyebrows looked too serious.

The pleasant memory was complete incongruent with the man she saw now. And to her eye it didn't seem like Kinji had simply grown out of childish pranks. It was more like he wasn't all there. "I spent more than a year searching Sou Society for you when you disappeared. The Head-Captain was really unhappy with you." His words and expression made it clear he was neither joking nor indulgind in self-deprecating humor. That confirmed to Yoruichi that something was desperately wrong with him. _**I'll have to tell Kisuke he was right. Why do his worst-case scenarios always happen?**_ She thought darkly. "Well, I wasn't going to hang around when Central 46 wanted my head. Besides, Aizen would never have left me alone after I found out what he was up to."

"Fair enough." Kinji said, accepting the woman's rationale. But when he turned to walk into the dining hall, something gnawed at his mind. The constant sense of unease was getting worse and he felt like he'd let something slip his mind.

"I heard you and Sui-Feng have been running into each other." Yoruichi said to his back. Kinji looked over his shoulder and smiled, but just barely. That sight gave Yoruichi hope. There was a little of the Kinji she remembered left. Not much, but hopefully enough.

"I guess you could say that. Oh, that reminds me. I've brought along some of my privates stock for after this meeting. You're welcome to join me." Yoruichi resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. If Kinji could still smile and drink he wasn't that far gone.

"I don't know, are you sure you want another tattoo?" she teased. A short time before Kinji's ascension to head of his clan, the two of them had gone drinking, along with a few others. It was how Yoruichi had ended up with the tattoo on her leg. After more than a few drinks, the younger soul reaper had complained that he looked too plain. That even his silver hair didn't do anything to make him stand out. Then, to prove a point, he tried hitting on a group of women from Division 4. Not only could he not get a single one of them to agree to a date, some of them hadn't even noticed him talking to them. Yoruichi smiled at the memory. From there it was only another drink and a mile to the nearest tattoo artist. She'd ended up with a kind of sunburst pattern her drunken mind had taken a liking to, and Kinji, a tribal style fox on his shoulder and covering a portion of his back. It was a memory she hadn't thought of in a while, but it brought a familiar nostalgic warmth. Better days. Before the war, before so many had died.

But her worry quickly returned when Kinji's face scrunched slightly in confusion. He put a hand to his head and it seemed as if he was in pain. "Tattoo? I don't have-"

"It is a pleasure it see you again, Lady Yoruichi." Haru Kotetsu interrupted. Kinji shook his head and his mask of calm nobility quickly slipped back into place. _**What the hell was that?**_ He wondered through the haze in his mind.

"Yes, a pleasure to see you too, Lady Kotetsu." Yoruichi said quickly. She wasn't afraid of much. The list only had half a dozen things on it. But the attention of Haru Kotetsu was number three and seemed to move up a place every time she met the woman.

"Any luck with Kisuke yet? Or is that moron still playing dumb?" Haru asked bluntly.

"Yes." Yoruichi replied cryptically. "We should probably go in, I think they're about to start." Yoruichi didn't bother to wait for Haru to reply. She brushed past the Kotetsu matriarch and into the room.

"What was that about?" Kinji asked.

"Oh, just girl talk. You wouldn't understand." his mother replied. "Now hurry up and take your seat. Your sisters are already in there." Kinji shook his head a little, trying to clear a familiar fuzzy feeling from his head. A feeling that was becoming more common.

A_void that woman. She is an enemy._ Miko whispered to him. Kinji didn't consciously hear it, but the suggestion was only more potent for that. Over the near century of their bonding, Miko had slowly been molding Kinji into her ideal host. Her plan had been working well, better than it had in any of her previous attempts. But whenever an old friend or even enemy appeared she had to dig out more memories. The more memories she took the less stable her host would become. But so far Kinji had held up. Soon he would be ripe for the picking. Assuming these connections he'd formed apart from her didn't realize what was going on and interfere. So she would push him away from them. She had kept him from his family for decades, nudged him in the direction of constant solitude. But when he reconnected with Isane it started shaking things loose. So she had reached into his core and made readjustments. But the strain was beginning to show, the spirit realized. She couldn't do it again so soon or risk his degredation. Even though this unexpected connection had appeared and begun to undo her hard work, she simply couldn't do another adjustment so soon. So she would push him a little. Move him away from her. _She will bring trouble. Avoid her._ The ancient spirit whispered again. Kinji didn't notice. He simply took his seat at the table with the other four clan leaders. He was between Byakuya and Eiji and across from Yoruichi.

The dinner went well enough. No one tried to stab anyone. The roast duck was, in Kinji's opinion, the dinner everyone should have at least once in their life. And that was only one small piece of the banquet the Kuchiki clan had provided. Kinji was in awe of their chef. As a fellow craftsman he could appreciate someone with such obvious skill. He'd practiced for decades to get his mead recipe right. Before that it was wine. Neither of his crowning achievements were even in the same league as a single one of these dishes.

"I think I'm going to move in here, if you don't mind Kuchiki-sama." Kinji joked.

"Now that I think about it, you do have several spare rooms, little Byakuya." Yoruichi said. "Maybe we could all stay the night."

"It's bad enough that I'm forced to tolerate you when the Soul Reaper Women's Association has their weekly meeting. I am not opening up my home to more troublemakers." Byakuya said as he sipped his after dinner tea.

"You let dirty commoners use your home? I'm disappointed in you Kuchiki-sama." Eiji grumbled. The old man pulled a pipe from he sleeve and began tucking tobacco into it.

"If you wish to smoke you will do so elsewhere." Byakuya told his peer sternly.

"Know your place, boy." He struck a match and lit the pipe. The sweet smell of good tobacco immediately hit the nose of everyone nearby. Yoruichi sneezed several times as the smoke wafted to her. Kinji wrinkled his nose in a show of distaste. The food turned sour in his mouth as his nose was filled with burning tobacco scent. He set his chopsticks down and turned a withering look on the eldest of the clan heads. Byakuya didn't react. He just sipped his tea. "You youngsters have no sense of pride. One of you abandoned your position for a century. One of you married a filthy commoner. And you-" the old man returned Kinji's glare in equal measure. "-took your position by murdering your father." In one fell swoop the wrinkled leader had insulted and infuriated all of his peers.

"So much for civility." Kinji muttered and took a sip of his tea. A long period of silence followed in which Eiji simply puffed on his pipe and filled the room with the aromatic smoke. Yoruichi sneezed several more times. Byakuya tolerated it for a full five minutes before he rose from the table and announced that dinner was over.

"We have a room prepared for everyone not participating in the negotiations." He gestured to one of the servants standing around the perimeter of the room. "We will rejoin you in two hours." The bulk of the nobles rose and quietly left for the lounge the Kuchiki had prepared. Kinji watched his sisters and mother leave and his brother walk over to the main table. Each of the four clan leaders were allowed a single adviser during this summit. Kinji had requested Jiro because his brother was familiar with the ins and outs of family life for the last 50 years. His mother would have done just as well, but she would have taken an aggressive position in any negotiation. It was her nature to dominate a room by force of personality. So Kinji, anticipating the need for a calmer atmosphere, had picked Jiro.

The other three nobles lined up behind their respective leaders. Kinji was not only surprised, but baffled by the choices the others had made. Reiko Tenshin, wife of the now deceased 20th head of the Tenshin clan. A young woman Kinji didn't recognize was Byakuya Kuchiki's advisor. He was sure he would remember someone that short. And Lin Feng, Kinji's defacto second in command. He recalled that the Feng family was subordinate to the Shihouin, but it hadn't occurred to him that one of the Feng would be here. And he certainly hadn't expected Lin to be the one Yoruichi selected as her sole consultant for this meeting.

"Now that we have some privacy, we can be candid." Byakuya said. "There is a growing movement in our ranks to break away from the Gotei 13." Kinji had expected more subtlety, maybe some less controversial issues on trade to be discussed first. But Byakuya had just pointed the elephant in the room. There was no going back to small talk.

"Yes, I've personally dealt with some of these dissidents. But only those who are part of one of the Divisions. But so far none of them have been members of our clans." Kinji stated, just to get his position on the record.

"Dealt with? You mean you killed them." Eiji stated. "Are you saying that you've taken it on yourself to murder even more nobles? Blood traitor." the insult was one that very few people would dare use. To say that to a noble was like throwing a knife into the ground at their feet. It was a declaration of open hostility. The tension in the room wouldn't have been noticeable to an outsider. But to high ranking nobles who had lived their lives steeped in politics and masters of reading emotion, the tension was stifling. Kinji didn't betray any emotion with his expression or posture. But all of them could tell he was a hair's breadth from a murderous outburst. If he moved, he would strike with all the power and experience of a Captain. Eiji would be slaughtered unless the two flash step masters present decided to save him. Kinji dimly recognized the ecstatic voice of his zanpakuto calling to him from the depths of his mind. _I am at your service, Master!_

That slip up by Miko gave him the moment of clarity he needed to get his anger back in hand. He took his eyes from Eiji and looked at his brother. Jiro's blue eyes were half lidded to help him hide the emotion shining so clearly in them. He was fearful of what Kinji was about to do. The future Captain of Division 3 forced his rage to sublimate, breaking the emotion with another, more powerful feeling. He wouldn't let his family down, not today.

"Are you saying they deserved to live? They were oathbreakers and traitors to Soul Society. They broke the laws of Central 46, and in doing so defied the will of the Soul King. Are you siding with them?" Kinji had returned the verbal attack with full force. The verbal exchange had bloodied him, but now it was Eiji's turn to feel the sting of accusation.

The old man's face went scarlet. "You little bastard. Your father should have strangled you the moment you stepped from your commoner mother's womb." Now both Kotetsus were feeling the urge to kill. No one, not even the Soul King garnered enough of their respect to get away with insulting their mother.

Yoruichi's fist slammed into the solid wooden table with enough force to send a hairline crack down it's length. The impact boomed loud in the empty hall and moved everyone's attention to her. But it was Byakuya who was the first to speak after silence fell. "If you want to keep breathing then keep your opinions to yourself, Eiji Tenshin. We're here to discuss what to do, not how we feel." Byakuya leveled an icy stare at the elder nobleman. Eiji met the gaze squarely but didn't speak. "This is a problem that must be resolved. I fully intend to bring the lesser families into line. I am hoping you will all do the same. We move the money and resources necessary for the Seireitei's survival. If we fall into infighting we will fail in our duty to the Soul King and Royal Family. We have had several carpenters and artisans shops destroyed by these traitors." Byakuya looked to the angry Shihouin.

"Four craftsman guilds under our house have been sabotaged, and one of the mines in North Rukon 10 was intentionally collapsed."

"All that means is you haven't properly protected your assets. We have had no such difficulties." Eiji said derisively.

"Three of our farms were burned." Jiro added to the total of damaged property. "And nearly a dozen hired saboteurs were captured attempting similar attacks. None of them were nobles, but they all believed themselves to be employed by a noble family. Though under interrogation they had no idea who they were employed by."

"Same here. And believe me when I say, Sui Feng always gets the truth. Someone is spending quite a bit of money on these vandals."

"The miscreants are irrelevant. We are responsible for the actions of those under our authority."

"The problem is that we don't know who it is. In the past century I've killed a dozen of these separatists. None of them were able to lead me to co-conspirators. If these are just individuals we'll have to rely on the leadership of the lower houses to reign in their members. We don't have the time to interview thousands of individuals."

"And it's not like we've just been sitting around doing nothing. The Feng family has been shadowing dozens of suspected nobles. Go ahead Lin." Yoruichi said. The smaller woman stepped forward. Lin was dressed in a green and yellow kimono that Kinji thought was very flattering on her. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun held together with an ornate jade comb.

"With over four months of constant observation we have uncovered a drug manufacturing ring, two individuals selling Asuachi, one man who dresses as a woman, and fourteen functioning alcoholics. But none of the eighty five individuals we observed displayed any indication of dissident behavior." Her informative report was followed by several seconds of silence as everyone sorted through the revelations Lin had just rapid-fired at them.

"The crossdressing report was probably just Captain Kyoraku." Yoruichi added.

"His kimono is very pink." Kinji agreed. "Did you say you found a drug manufacturing ring?"

"Technically it was a pyramid structured operation." Lin confirmed. "Was." she added with a smug smile.

"Entertaining, but it was still a failure on your part."Eiji said after he refilled his pipe.

"We will continue to search, but I'm not confident in our chances." Lin took no offense at the old man's blunt evaluation. "I have recommended to Shihouin-sama that we expand our surveillance efforts, but to do so we would need each of you to provide several individuals that you have absolute faith in."

"That is unacceptable" Reiko Tenshin said calmly. Kinji took note of her, not because of what she said, but because of the way she said it. She had the kind of clear voice that could enrapture an audience. The kind of voice people would sit and listen to for no better reason that the sound of it. "We cannot afford to place our closest allies at your disposal while traitors do as they please with the money and influence we have given them." Lin nodded at her response and said nothing. But she glanced at Kinji long enough to catch his eye. She wanted his support, probably hoping it would convince the Kuchiki clan to lend their support.

"We can spare half a dozen people at most. I can have a list compiled after this meeting is over." Kinji was willing to support Lin's plan, if only to get a better read on what the Tenshin were doing. Eiji was just being a bastard for no better reason than he liked being one. Or that was how it looked. But Reiko obviously had an agenda. She wouldn't have gone out of her way to explain her reasoning if she didn't. Lin nodded almost imperceptibly toward him when he finished and scrawled something on her clip board.

"I agree with the Tenshin. As useful as a joint effort would be we cannot spare those we trust most at this time." Byakuya was looking at Reiko with obvious curiosity. He wanted to guage her reaction to his support. He might as well have been playing a statue in poker. "After the Winter War and the subsequent invasion our personnel and resources have been stretched to the limit." Lin nodded and stepped back.

"May I make a suggestion?" Reiko asked politely. Byakuya Kuchiki nodded while both yoruichi and Kinji stared unblinkingly at the white-haired woman. Her sky-blue eyes didn't waver or glance aside at either of them. "Instead of chasing these vandals and gremlins, might we instead simply increase our guard over our assets? This wave of malcontent will subside the futher the Winter War fades into the past. We don't need to chase anyone, just make it too difficult for them to attack us." It was smart, simple, efficient, and took the long view of things. Simply put it was the kind of plan that no reasonable person would be able to disagree with. This immediately made Kinji distrustful. But he couldn't see how this could be a trap. His agitation only increased when she amended her plan slightly. "I have no objection to the Shihouin and Kotetsu carrying out their investigation if they so desire. Do you, Grandfather?"

"No. They can waste time chasing white rabbits all they want. It's none of our business." the old man said grumpily. Kinji had a subtle feeling of vertigo. Like someone had taken the ground under his feet and tipped it just enough to make it noticeable. If this was some kind of ploy he couldn't see the point of it. He felt suddenly out of his depth. And by looking over at Yoruichi he could tell he wasn't alone. Her eyes were hard and bright like an unsheathed sword. The "I know something you don't know" vibe the Tenshin were giving off had her pissed. He looked to Byakuya and saw nothing on the man's face. His eyes were devoid of any emotion and his hands were flat and still on the table.

"Is this agreeable to everyone?" The Captain of Division 6 asked. Everyone nodded. Neither Kinji nor Yoruichi could find a reason to object. "Then this meeting is over." Byakuya stood and bowed to his peers. They returned the bow and headed for the door.

"Time to break open a few bottles." Yoruichi prompted Kinji.

"I'll make sure you get some. I'm not in the mood anymore." Kinji said, somewhat rudely. But it was the truth, as far as he knew. He was in a bad mood, but because of the suggestions of Miko, the sight of Yoruichi only aggravated his mood. Yoruichi contemplated dragging him to a bar and forcing some alcohol down his throat. But Lin made her move first. The shorter woman put a hand on her superior's shoulder.

"May I?" Lin was asking permission to go after him. Her golden eyes shining, she gave Lin the answer she wanted to hear.

"Hurry up." Lin moved to Kinji's side as quickly as propriety would allow.

"Kotetsu-sama!" Lin called out. Kinji stopped and turned. When he saw Lin chasing after him he smiled a little. He slowed his pace so she didn't have to run in order to catch up.

"I didn't know you were working with Yoruichi Shihouin. Now the yawning during morning practice makes sense."

"Oh shut up. I don't yawn." Lin complained playfully. Then her face turned serious again. "Are you alright? You looked like you were ready to murder Eiji Tenshin."

"I was. Wanna help?" he gave a twisted smile to show he was joking.

"You have no idea. That man is hated by literally everyone I know. Even Reiko, though she doesn't show it." Lin gave an exasperated sigh. "What were they up to in there?"

"If I knew, I would have done something. Uh-oh." Kinji stopped walking. He saw his mother staring right at Lin from across the room. "I'm just going to go ahead and apologize right now for what's about to happen." Lin blinked and started to ask what he was talking about when Kinji's mother seemed to appear right in front of them.

"And who is this beautiful young woman?" Haru Kotetsu said, not quite keeping the glee from her voice at catching the two of them together. Lin blushed at the compliment. As a member of the Feng family and an assassin, people didn't compliment her on her looks. "You must be Lin Feng. Kinji's told me so much about you." she lied.

"Lin Feng, this is my mother, Haru Kotetsu." he said with a defeated look on his face. "Mother, this is Lin, my subordinate in Division 3."

"It's an honor to meet you, Kotetsu-sama."

"Please, call me Haru." and like that, Lin was whisked away by Haru to the coach the Kotetsu had taken to the Kuchiki manor. Kinji followed after them, shaking his head in despair and wondering who he killed in a past life to deserve such bad luck.

* * *

Four hours and several cups of tea later...

Kinji had insisted on walking with Lin back to the Division barracks.

"Your mother is really something else." Lin commented.

"You don't know the half of it. And thanks for not telling her about what happened in the meeting."

"You're very welcome. I don't rat on people I like." Lin stopped walking when she realized what she'd just said. "I didn't mean-what I was trying to say-" she devolved into nervous stuttering. Like usual she just couldn't cope with the awkward social situations that came with a normal life. Kinji stopped her stammering by stealing the briefest of kisses. Just a brief touch of their lips, but it was enough to make Lin stop saying anything at all.

"I like you too, Lin." Kinji confessed. He was close, very close to her. And even in the dark of full night, he could still see the heavy blush on her face by the light of the half moon in the clear starry sky. The silence between them was sharp and tense, like a string pulled tight to the point of breaking. Then, at nearly the same moment they came forward and kissed hard. The uncertainty they had been feeling washed away in the warmth that filled them both from head to toe. Neither of them was thinking of anything in that moment but each other and the kiss. But the moment was shattered when Aoki caught sight of them from a distance, seeing the moonlight on Kinji's silver hair.

"Kotetsu-sama!" he called out. It startled the new couple and they broke apart. Thankfully it was dark enough that Aoki couldn't make out details from a distance. If he could have, he would have seen the heavy blush on their faces. "I'm sorry, I know you're on leave- Oh. Hi Lin, I thought you were staying at the Shihouin manor. Kotetsu-sama, we have a problem."

"Of course." Kinji moaned. But when he saw the look on his subordinate's face he rearranged his priorities."What is it?"

"Someone killed Kurata!" Kinji took off at a sprint with Lin just a short distance behind him. All they had to do was find the crowd of Soul Reapers standing around the body. Or what was left of it. Kurata had been a pretty big guy, but with a leg and most of his left side below the arm missing he probably weighed less than Aoki. His zanpakuto was shattered. His robe was in tatters and singed. The entire area stank of burning hair and flesh. And some sharp scent Kinji had never experienced before.

"Who found the body?" Kinji demanded of his subordinates. No one raised their hand or spoke up.

"It smells like acid." Lin said, more to herself than Kinji. Kinji knelt down to examine the body. He could barely stand the smell coming from the corpse, but he needed to know what happened. Kurata's face was burned, but there was no soot around the injury. But there was another, less obvious injury. There was a sliver of white stone just barely visible in his blood covered right shoulder. Kinji stood and started issuing orders.

"Get the body to the Research Institute. Starting now we're posting guards around the Division. You two, go inform the Head-Captain. Lin." Kinji saw her and briefly mourned that the evening had turned out this way. "I need you to alert Sui-Feng. The murder of one of us makes it her jurisdiction. I'll be in my office making a report to give her when she gets here." Everyone hurried to their tasks. Kinji opened his Dinreishiki and called Isane's number.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Isane. I need you to tell mother I won't be home tonight. Something happened that requires immediate attention."

"What happened? Are you alright."

"One of my officers was murdered. I need to be here to facilitate the investigation into his death. If she makes a big deal over it tell her I'll see you all again soon."

"Ok. Be careful Nii-sama."

"Bye." he hung up. It would be a long night.

* * *

**Kotetsu Manor**

Isane had been sitting in one of the private meeting rooms of the Kotetsu manor when Kinji called. She, Kiyone, Jiro and their mother were discussing what was happening to Kinji.

"Ok. Be careful, Nii-sama." Isane heard her brother's farewell and closed the device. "Mother-" Haru held up a hand.

"I heard. Don't push him for now. He'll come back home after he becomes Captain at the end of the month. When that happens I expect you all to be here. I'll look into the Tenshin in the mean time."

"What's happening to Kinji?" Kiyone asked.

"He's losing himself. The same way your father lost himself. It's time you knew what really happened over a century ago. Why Kinji killed his own father, and why he tried to kill himself that same night."

**Author's Note: No more updates for at least 4 weeks. Grad school is going to be eating my life until the semester ends. But don't despair, I will do my utmost to make the next chapter epic. It's going to be one of the high points(or low points depending on your point of view) of the story.**

**On another note, what do you think? Could definitely use some feedback. Writing romance isn't really my thing so go easy on that part. **

**I've got the plot more or less mapped out, it'll end somewhere around 21 chapters. My goal is to have it done sometime in the next 4 months. God willing.**


	7. Assassins and Surprises

**A/N: Ok, sorry for the extremely long wait but grad school kind of took over my entire life for a little while. I promise you won't have to wait nearly so long for the next update. A word on reviews, it is very difficult to offend or annoy me. It pretty much never happens. So be honest and open with any reviews, I'm open to suggestions or constructive criticism.**

** This is my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 7

**6 Days Before Captain's Exam-Division 3**

Kinji was at his desk and trying to make sense of the nonsensical. The attack on his Division that ended with the death of his 5th seat had no witnesses. There was nothing on the body to indicate who had killed him. Kinji had been hopeful that the unique wounds would at least provide some hint as to who was responsible. There was no kido that conjured corrosive liquid, so the ability had to come from a zanpakuto. But after checking Division 12's database he hadn't found a zanpakuto with that ability. So whoever it was had a zanpakuto, but wasn't part of the Gotei 13. That meant it was either a noble or an assassin from the underworld. Neither idea made him happy. What made no sense was the target. Kurata was a nobody as far as the noble families were concerned. And if the killer was an assassin, he wouldn't kill someone unless it was to get at his target. Kinji knew how such killers operated because he had been trained as one.

None of it made any sense. And why then? Was it a coincidence that he had been killed the same night as the summit? There was no gain that he could see. Was it to send a message to him? That he wasn't untouchable? Was it about him at all? The questions buzzed around in his mind like angry bees. Whenever he grabbed one, the pain of guilt stung him. Kurata had been a good guy. He was quiet, kept to himself, didn't complain when someone asked something of him. He shouldn't have died. He didn't have any family, but that cold comfort was the only one he had at that moment. He flipped through the complete report that Sui-Feng had provided him at his request. He stopped at the photo of a shard of white stone that had been found in the body. It was part of a knife that had been fashioned of sekkiseki stone. Being stabbed with something like that would rob an unranked soul reaper of their power. To anyone of substantial power it would hinder their abilities. Kido would be nigh impossible. To a Captain, or someone of comparable level, it would be a nuisance and nothing more. If the killer tried the same thing with him, Kinji would tear him into tiny little pieces.

He took a look outside on that beautifully sunny day. He was only a few hours away from a check-up Isane insisted he have. He wasn't sure why she suddenly decided to take an interest in his health. But he would welcome any opportunity to see her. She hadn't spoken to him since the summit three weeks prior.

It was less than a week before the exam. He knew how it would go. He shows his bankai to the Head-Captain and two others, he gets a nice white coat. But the closer it got the more nervous he felt. What had formerly been a twinge in the back of his mind was now a nervous tremor in his hands when he lost focus. He could feel that something was wrong, the instinct was bone deep. It left him in a nigh perpetual bad mood. It was so obvious that even Miko, who ususally cared little for his mood, hadn't spoken to him in two weeks. The only thing that could brighten up his day was Lin. They had gone on half a dozen dates since she had met his family. He found life more enjoyable when she was there. But she was away to Division 2 for the day, Sui-Feng apparently needed her for something. He shook his head to clear away the intruding thoughts. Lin wasn't there, and dwelling on her absence wouldn't do any good.

He stood up from his desk, restlessness finally overpowering his need to figure things out. He needed to talk a walk. He had thought to the end of his wits and now he needed to do something, anything. Though he had not reached his answer he still felt the need to act. So he slid the plain door of his office open and started walking to his Division's training grounds. He took in his surroundings with an absent minded attention. He looked at the trees, the buildings, his subordinates. He decided to go to the kido range and blow off a little steam. A little quality time with the interactive targets would help him clear his head. He didn't want to walk into a meeting with his sister frustrated and primed for violence.

He saw a couple of the unranked members of his squad there. Probably the ambitious ones looking to become seated officers. To his mild surprise he saw Aoki there as well, using a binding spell to entangle one of the manikins wielding a wooden sword. For a moment he thought about leaving them to it, but after watching one of his subordinates let a destructive spell unravel in her hands and set her sleeve on fire. When he got closer he recognized her. She had been one of those just recently added to Division 3 as part of the recent expansion. He was fuzzy on her name but he remembered her attitude. She had picked several fights in the last month, was often seen using Division equipment after sundown, and had insulted him on their first meeting. Everyone else was standing a good distance from her and out of her line of sight. Likely to avoid any stray spells.

"Aoki!" He called to the 10th seat. Aoki turned around and waved to his superior. Kinji flash stepped to close the distance so he wouldn't have to shout. "How is this training session going?"

"Training session, sir?" he asked. Kinji had assumed, wrongly, that his officer was here helping his fellow Division members.

"Nevermind. What is her name? I'm having trouble remembering." Kinji asked, pointing to the woman with whisps of smoke still rising from one of her sleeves.

"Kyoko? I wouldn't go there." Aoki said sourly. "I tried helping her out and she nearly took my arm off."

"Kyoko. Right." Kinji ignored Aoki's warning. He had a tendency to overreact about little things. He was five feet away when he tried to catch her attention. "Kyo-" her spell exploded. Kinji wiped the soot from his eyes and blinked a few times. "Kyoko?" She had been knocked out cold.

"I did warn you. She can't do kido. But twice a weeks she comes out here and blows herself up. No talent at all." Aoki said with some exasperation. Kinji lifted his hand and mumbled "Sokatsui". A small blast of blue fire, the same blast Kyoko had been trying to conjure. It struck the target and left some deep scorch marks but didn't destroy it. "You have any experience in healing kido?" he asked Aoki. The confused soul reaper started to ask a question then put his hands over the fallen woman. Green light poured from his hands.

"All I can do is reiatsu replenishment. If she needs anything more we'll have to take her to a real medic." Kinji slapped him on the back.

"You're a man of many talents. Too bad relationships aren't one of them."

"That was a cheap shot." Aoki complained.

"You dated my sister. I'm entitled to take a shot at you once in a while."

"It wasn't my fault. She has a crush on Captain Abarai." Kinji has to restrain himself from grabbing Aoki by the robe and beating more information out of him.

"You're joking."

"No. Captain Abarai. Don't ask me why, but he does spend a lot of time in the hospital so that would be the how. And as for when, apparently for a long time. He walked by our table and she just lit up." Aoki's hands were shaking.

"Easy." Kinji cautioned. "It'll be alright. Plenty of fish in the sea and other comforting platitudes." The lack of enthusiasm in his superior's voice told Aoki that his superior was completely fixated on the idea of Isane crushing on Captain Abarai. To be fair, he had reacted just as poorly to the revelation. But his superior's obsession with his family still concerned him. It was the one thing that would commandeer his attention regardless of what was going on. Aoki was convinced that if he was bleeding out on the ground and Isane subbed her toe, Kinji would see to Isane first and him second. It bordered on the psychotic.

"You sound so convincing." Aoki settled for a sarcastic jab at his superior. "I don't really care about the other million fish. I just wanted one. Was I asking for too much out of life?"

"When the fish is a Kotetsu, asking for anything is too much." When Aoki looked at him Kinji stood and started walking away. Kyoko's eyes flickered open

"Cryptic, yet unhelpful. Thank you so much for your invaluable advice!" Aoki yelled to his future Captain as he walked away. Aoki helped the woman to her feet when she regained consciousness. Then he put a binding spell on her when she started chanting another destructive spell. Kinji made his way toward Division 4. The small forest of well tended trees made for pleasant scenery on his walk. He hadn't seen his sister since the summit and he had a sudden impulse to have a long conversation with her. He'd met Captain Abarai on several occasions, once when the moron had been brought into Division 4 suffering from what the nurses had described as "severe hypothermia". Apparently some drunken jackassery had caused Captain Hitsugaya to encase him up to his neck in ice. He's also heard rumors of other, even less intelligent, stunts by the red-haired man. But he'd also heard about the man's constant acts of valor in the line of duty. His fight with Byakuya, his stand against Aizen, his assault on Hueco Mundo. He had many friends among several Divisions, he was admired by many young soul reapers, and he had proven he would die for those he cared for. If the worst thing you could say about a man is that he was an idiot, you didn't have much to complain about.

"But Isane would never make a move for him." Kinji said aloud to himself. "How should I play this? Should I set them up? Should I confront one of them? Both of them?" Kinji started massaging his temples to stave off a headache. "What the hell is wrong with me? Scheming to manipulate people's lives never used to be this hard." Pain flared in his head just before he was able to recall an instance of his childhood machinations. The pain was intense, a mind-shattering flash of agony that jolted him from his recollections and nearly brought him to his knees. Something was very wrong with him. His heart thudded hard in his chest and his stomach squirmed as he considered the ramifications. He wasn't completely dense, he'd realized that the headaches happened only when he tried to recall certain memories. But that last one was bad enough to make him wonder, was this strange condition getting worse. "Miko!" Kinji practically yelled. He placed a hand on his zanpakuto and demanded an answer to his summons.

_Yes, my host?_

_**What the hell did you do to me?**_ Anger so pure and hot flooded Kinji's soul that the temple Miko was residing in became sweltering. Miko considered another adjustment to remove this memory but decided against it. Kinji had become unstable, much like her previous host. He had lasted longer and been more resistant to deterioration, but Kinji was slowly breaking down. She had noticed the changes in the world around her. The waves had ceased and the air had become stale. Even the trees had begun to wither and die. She had pushed too far, taken too much of his identity. Miko had believed Kinji to be the one, the perfect host for her. He had the right blood, he was possessed of the ruthlessness she liked in hosts, and he had the potential required for one to surpass their natural limits. This was the critical moment, in order for Kinji to surpass his limits he would have to survive the madness that would try to drown him.

_I stripped you of unnecessary burdens. Those moments of your life that would have made you too weak to survive what comes next._ Kinji was thrown momentarily into shock. Because he had known her for so long he knew exactly what she meant. She had taken memories, elements of his personality. She had manipulated him by literally molding him into what she wanted. He wasn't surprised that she had done it, but he could hardly believe the scope of what she'd done. She had not only taken away his real zanpakuto, she had lopped off any part of his mind that she deemed weak or counterproductive. He wasn't himself, or at least only a shadow of what he should be.

_**You poisonous demon! **_His hatred of her shook the timbers of the temple in his mind. He was about to enter his mind to confront her in the most violent way possible. But the death match he had put off for so long wasn't to be. Even as his mind began to slip away from the real world it was dragged back from the sensation of a blade slicing through the skin on the back of his neck. Kinji reacted on pure instinct and rolled forward. It saved his life. He spun to face his attacker the moment he was back to his feet. He was forced to draw his sword and block the next incoming slash from his masked assailant. When he felt the strength behind the slash he almost laughed. With one arm he repelled the attack and sent his attacker tumbling back ten feet. If the power of that attack was representative of his true strength then Kinji had very little to worry about. He would peg the man as a strong 4th seat in terms of physical brawn. But he couldn't sense the man's reiatsu through the black clothes he was wearing.

"Who are you?" Kinji asked. He kept on his guard and flared his reiatsu high enough to make movement difficult on his opponent. And hopefully someone would notice the spike and help him capture the would-be assassin. Whoever this was he wanted to take them alive so Sui-Feng could interrogate him.

The ninja wannabe pressed his attack instead of answering Kinji's question. The noble easily parried the attacks. As a swordsman the assassin was more skilled than he was by far, but the sheer difference in both speed and strength made his advantage negligible. Takeshi grinned from behind his cloth mask. He had finally managed to catch the soul reaper off guard in an isolated area. It had take n him weeks of stalking and he'd been forced to kill a witness, but Kinji had finally been out in the open and far away from help. He'd first hoped to kill the man in his sleep but the kido barriers around his sleeping quarters were too strong for him to break without waking the entire 3rd Division. Then he had hoped to catch him unguarded after the came back from the summit, but he was stopped by Kurata. But after so much waiting the time was here. And all he had to do was keep him occupied and everything else would fall into place.

"Flow, Mizu o korosu." The blade of Takeshi's zanpakuto was coated in a sickly green fluid. The smell hit Kinji's nose almost immediately. Takeshi saw Kinji's expression darken.

"You were the one who did it." his voice was completely flat, void of all emotion. "You killed Kurata. Mind telling me why before I strangle you with your intestines?" Takeshi said nothing. He just stood there waiting for Kinji to make the first move. The longer his opponent delayed the better it would be for his chance of success. Instead he readied his sword for his next attack routine. Kinji's reiatsu flared to new heights and placing a severe burden on Takeshi. If he hadn't been wearing a special cloak provided by his employers the pressure would have rendered him incapable of fighting. Kinji had the strength of a Captain and being the sole focus of his murderous intent was enough to buckle the knees of anyone with less reiatsu than a Lieutenant. "Not the talking type." Kinji commented coldly. "Then I guess there's nothing left to do but crush you under my heel." Kinji held his zanpakuto above his head. Even though he hated Miko he was not above making use of her power for ends greater than himself. Avenging a comrade, even one he barely knew, was such an end. This man who had killed his subordinate would know fear before he died. He would know just how powerless he was before the man he had attacked. Kinji ignored the sensation of blood dripping down his back from the cut on his neck and focused on bringing forth the pinnacle of his power. He visualized his bankai and began to speak the word. Then pain flared in his head and he nearly dropped his sword. His anger, purposely kept at a low simmer so he wouldn't make mistakes flared into a full bonfire. He knew instantly what had happened. Miko had removed the memory of his bankai, and without that memory he would not be able to call on his most potent ability. He cursed her again for her treachery.

Takeshi saw the moment of weakness but hesitated briefly. He had barely scratched Kinji and there had been no poison on his blade. What could possibly have happened to bring his target to drop his guard. The hesitation lasted only as long is it took Takeshi to remember that the difference in power made feinting a useless tactic on Kinji's part. So he attacked with as much skill and brute strength as he could. Kinji caught the sidelong slash on his left side with his zanpakuto. The sudden impact jolted him back to the battle at hand. Unfortunately, the sudden stop of Takeshi's sword caused droplets of acid to be splashed onto Kinji's torso. The green drops ate through his clothes and burned at his skin. For someone less experienced, or someone with no knowledge of Takeshi's abilities, the unexpected pain would have caused them to make a mistake or drop their guard. But Kinji ignored the pain and grabbed for the assassin with his empty right hand. He leaped back from the attempted grapple and flung more droplets at Kinji to keep him from pursuing.

He needn't have bothered. Kinji was reeling from the loss of his bankai and his was shaking with barely contained rage.

_If you do not focus on this fight you will not survive._ Miko's voice pierced the haze of emotion and helped Kinji regain a semblance of control. He was still nearly mad with anger, but now he could determine a path to resolving his anger. The target in front of him was a start. He could deal with Miko when he was safe in his office. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His enemy was skilled but weak. He didn't need to close into sword range to finish him when a blast of kido would do just the same. "Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro." Six rods of light slammed into Takeshi and rendered him completely immobile. The assassin was stunned. He knew Kinji was a powerful kido practitioner, but he hadn't known that this particular spell was in Kinji's repetroire. If he had then he would have taken certain precautions. He couldn't move and the look on his target's face promised an uncomfortably slow death.

"Is there anything you want to say before I get started?" Kinji asked. There was a distinct lack of emotion on his face the sign that he was prepared to do things that normal people had no stomach for. Takeshi had seen that look during his career in the Gotei 13. Usually it was on the face of an interrogator before the screaming started. He tried to move his arms and failed. Drops of acid fell from his sword onto the binding kido. Kinji was too angry to notice, but the fluid was slowly eating through the binding. Takeshi knew what he had to do. He needed to stall for time and wait for the spell to weaken. It hadn't been long enough for his surprise to be ready either.

"This wasn't a personal thing. I was paid to kill you." He said the words as slowly as he could, trying to make it sound calming. He knew it would have the opposite effect, but Kinji wouldn't kill him until he was sure he didn't have anything left to give.

"Who paid you?" the change of pace derailed the singular mindset that had dominated Kinji's mind since the fight had started. Now he was actually thinking. Something good might come out of all this after all. This was the payoff to Yamamoto's plan.

"Some nobles with a lot of money and more than a little pull inside the Gotei 13. There were three of them, at least, I met with three people who felt it necessary to hide their faces." Takeshi could feel some small degree of movement return to him as his acid broke down the spell. Another minute and he would be able to break the kido with one swing of his zanpakuto.

"You don't have any names or descriptions?"

"No. But there are plenty of things I can tell you. The money they gave me, it's enough for me to retire on. Agree to let me go, I'll tell you everything I can, including names of soul reapers who are either loyal to these nobles or are on the payroll." The list was only two people long but Kinji didn't need to know that. Besides, he had no intention of giving the soul reaper anything useful.

"You spoke with them, right? Give me the conversation word for word." Kinji's left hand twitched in an angry spasm, a sign that his desire to kill Takeshi hadn't actually subsided. So the assassin decided to do just that. His employers wouldn't be happy, but they hadn't given him anything that would give someone their identity. And if they had then it was their fault. He saw Kinji's expression change when he got to what the old man said.

"The woman, if you had to describe her voice in a single word, what would it be?"

"Musical." And bingo. Kinji could safely assume the identity of two of the three conspirators. The old man was almost certainly Eiji Tenshin and the woman was Reiko Tenshin. The third person was still a complete mystery, but it was a hell of a lot more than he'd had a couple months ago. But with the satisfaction of his mission paying off came a bitterness. Without this man's testimony Yamamoto would have no possible way to move against the Tenshin. For the Gotei 13 to take any action against one of the four Houses they needed concrete proof of treason against the Soul King or the Royal Family. Now, the word of some hired killer wouldn't be enough to arrest anyone, but it was enough for Central 46 to authorize an actual investigation. So, in short, if he wanted to bring down the Tenshin, this man would have to stay alive. The thought disgusted him. And his anger wasn't abating in the least. But there were rules he had dedicated his life to, and he wasn't going to break them for the sake of personal satisfaction.

"Congratulations. I'm not going to be killing you today." Kinji held out a hand and prepared to cast a more permanent binding. Then he took note of the way the assassin's eyes crinkled at the corners. Almost as if he was smiling behind his mask. There was a sharp pain in right shoulder and a sudden sense of vertigo.

"Chains reforged and wheels unbroken. Scattered colors returned to white." Kinji looked over his injured shoulder and saw a man with red hair standing behind him chanting the words to a spell. He tried to flash step and take the man's head off, but his reiatsu was stuttering and inconstant so he ended up half a dozen paces behind this new attacker without ever touching him. "-divide the sky in five. Bakudo number 85, Gentei Reiin!" Kinji felt the burning sensation on his chest when the tattoo seal appeared and reduced his power to 20% of his normal capacity. He staggered under the sudden loss of power. He heard his binding break and release the masked assassin.

Akamatsu smiled the satisfied smile of a scientist getting good results. He'd had reservations about this strategy, even after the test run was done on Kurata. But with a piece of sekiseki stone to lower Kinji's resistance to his binding, everything had gone smoothly. Even if Kinji removed the stone the Gentei Reiin would remain until someone from Division 12 removed it. Now that the seal was on him and Takeshi was free, they would be more than capable of retrieving the artifact.

"Two on one? And a seal on the majority of my power. At least the Tenshin aren't insulting me by aiming low." Kinji commented. He pulled the shard of sekiseki stone from his shoulder. The seal remained but the nausea and vertigo disappeared. Neither of the men responded. Instead, the one who had cast the seal drew his sword and released it.

"Grind, Boseki Kinzoku." Small serrated metal disks appeared on both sides of his katana and began spinning at a blurring speed. The two assassins readied themselves to strike. Kinji stood straight and slipped out of the top of his shihakusho and revealed his scarred chest and back. The sight of those scars gave his potential killers pause. Kinji was a survivor the likes of which most people had never seen. He had pitted his life against more than a hundred opponents in single combat, many of them were stronger than him, and he had the scars to prove it. Takeshi and Akamatsu wondered, just for the barest moment, if he would somehow manage to walk away from their custom-built deathtrap.

"Before you really try to kill me, I'm giving you fair warning. If I'm the one left standing when this fight ends, I'll be handing you over to Sui-Feng for interrogation. After killing my subordinate then coming after me, a quick death isn't in the cards for either of you."

* * *

The Division 4 hospital was unusually quiet that day. Isane was using the extra time to restock some of their more mundane supplies like bandaged and suture thread. Unfortunately for her the menial task gave her mind time to wander back to the story her mother had told several weeks ago. And what she had asked of her children.

_"The night your father, Yukimura, died, he was about to perform a ritual that would have killed hundreds of unranked soul reapers. That was what I told everyone about that night, and it is part of the truth. But the reason he attempted it was because of the spirit possessing him. He had uncovered an artifact, a mirror, left behind after the Soul King moved to a higher plane of existence some 2500 years ago. It joined with your father 200 years ago and from then on his actions became increasingly erratic. He began losing memories and his entire personality became more aggressive, more ambitious. Then, when he tried to sacrifice most of the Gotei 13, Kinji used the power of his zanpakuto to get close and stabbed his father in the heart. Before he died, the mirror separated from Yukimura and tried to bond with Kinji. When it attached itself to your brother he tried to run himself through with his zanpakuto, hoping to either destroy the cursed thing or render it inert. Instead, it bonded with his zanpakuto and your brother lost pieces of his memory. I assumed that was the worst that had happened and the threat was contained. But it seems what happened to Yukimura has been happening to Kinji, just more slowly. At some point he will also attempt transcendence, the mirror won't give him a choice. Before that happens we need to find a way to remove the artifact and contain it. For nearly a century I've scoured our records and consulted with kido experts. Isane, I want you to talk with your Captain about this. Kiyone, keep an eye on your brother. Jiro, reach out to the other three families. The Shihouin in particular might have some information on such a powerful artifact. I expect one of you to have a possible solution in one month. If you don't, we may have to kill your brother._

That possibility turned Isane's stomach every time she remembered it. She had talked with Captain Unohana several times since then. Her Captain was the most knowledgeable and skilled medic in the Seireitei, but she had no idea how to extract the artifact. There was a chance that sealing the possessed zanpakuto would save her brother but there was no guarantee. As much as she hated the idea, she was planning on going to Captain Kurotsuchi to discuss the matter. She would withhold which member of her family was the subject, but she would have to tell him everything else. She had contacted the 12th Division earlier that day and spoken with their 5th seat, Akamatsu Okubo, and secured a meeting time early in the next week. She'd wanted it to be sooner but the man had assured her it would be six days before his Captain would have time.

But before she did anything that drastic she wanted to bring Kinji in for a full examination. Until she was absolutely sure there was nothing she or her Captain could do, she wouldn't go to Division 12. She checked the clock. Kinji was running a little late.

That was another thing that had changed. When he was younger he was always early. Now it seemed he was consistently late. Not by a lot, but the change was clear. She could hardly blame him for that though. He was doing the work of the two highest officers of the 3rd Division by himself. It was understandable that he was having schedule trouble. But since she didn't have anything better to do at the moment, she decided to walk out to meet Kinji. There was only one path between Division 3 and Division 4, so she assumed he would be on it. Out of habit she picked up an emergency medical kit, more compact than the bags her subordinates wore, and stepped out onto the path.

The moment she stepped into the small forest between the two Division grounds she wondered why she couldn't feel her brother's reiatsu. He never really made an effort to hide it unless he was on a mission. She pulled out her dinreishikki and tried to call him. His communicator wasn't able to be reached. These things worried her, but it wasn't until she walked face first into a powerful barrier spell that she began to panic.

As an expert in kido she was able to tell by that one touch how powerful it was. But the reiatsu wasn't homogeneous, the barrier felt like it had been raised by a dozen or more individuals. She drew her zanpakuto and pressed the tip against the barrier. When the Gotei 13 created barriers like this they included a feature that allowed certain soul reapers to pass through so long as they had the proper key. The keys in question were the unique composition of their zanpakuto. But the moment her sword touched the barrier it was violently rejected. Isane's panic picked up a notch. As the Lieutenant of the Medical Division she had total access to all areas not forbidden by Central 46, which was more than most of the Captains. Then her training took over and she drew out a small disk-shaped ink well. She used the ink to draw curving lines on her arms and a character on each hand. "Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line." A square of blue light appeared in the air in front of her. She placed both palms on it and finished the spell. "Form a circle and fly though the heavens. Bakudo 77: Tenteikura!" Lines of connection formed between Isane and every Captain and Lieutenant in the Seireitei. "Isane Kotetsu of Division 4 requesting immediate assistance. Unidentified barrier found half a kilometer south of Division 4. I repeat, unidentified barrier found half a kilometer south of Division 4. Requesting immediate assistance." Now she had to wait. Trying to break through a powerful barrier wasn't a good idea, with something that was prepared in advance there was a chance it had additional qualities. If she attacked it she might suffer unpleasant consequences.

Two Captains immediately began making their way to the reported site upon hearing the alert. After Aizen's betrayal it became law that any anomalous happenings be immediately reported to higher ranking officers. And a powerful barrier created without prior notification was the kind of thing that put people on edge. It meant that something was happening that someone powerful didn't want the Gotei 13 to know about. Sui-Feng, already on edge from having an unsolved murder on her desk, took off at speed. She barely notified her subordinates that she would be heading out. Renji Abarai, who had been doing paperwork in his office in Division 5, welcomed any excuse to get up and run. He was almost grateful to whatever idiot decided breaking the law was a good idea. The other Captains were farther away but would have responded despite the time it would have taken them to arrive. When they felt Renji and Sui-Feng begin to move they stopped. All of them, except for Kenpachi Zaraki. He coukdn't sense anything so he and Lieutenant Kusajishi too off toward what they assumed was Division 4. It was actually Division 8 but they wouldn't figure that out until they arrived there 20 minutes later.

Despite being much closer, Renji arrived at Isane's location after Sui-Feng. "What's going on?" Renji asked without any formalities.

"Ren- Captain Abarai." Isane misspoke. After Renji being a Lieutenant alongside her for years she hadn't gotten used to addressing him as a Captain yet.

"Knock it off with that. Just call me Renji, having you call me Captain just sounds wrong." Renji replied. "Now what's going on?"

"I thought it would be perfectly obvious to a Captain." Sui-Feng said. "But since you're just a baby Captain I'll explain in small words." she was in a foul mood already, but when she heard Renji act so dismissively about his rank she needed to vent her frustration. Renji, despite being a Captain, was scared of Sui-Feng. Some might call him a coward, but anyone who knew anything would just say he had good judgment. So when she insulted him he held his tongue when his first instinct would be to pick a fight. "This barrier is not supposed to be here. We're going to break it down and arrest anyone inside it." Sui-Feng took off her haori and took her fighting stance.

"Be careful. I think my brother might be trapped in there." Isane said with a suppressed urgency.

"Good, I wouldn't mind knocking him around a little after he stole one of my best officers." She whispered the words to a kido known only to the Shihouin and Feng families. It was a spell designed to make the energy forming a barrier lose its coherence and fall apart. But in order to do that she would have to make a crack to allow her spell to sink in. When her punch struck the barrier she was violently repelled.

"Tough barrier." Renji commented.

"Not for long." Sui-Feng promised. "Shunko!"

* * *

Kinji traded another spattering of acid droplet on his chest and left shoulder for a bone crushing strike to Takeshi's lower ribs. The masked man was thrown straight backwards until he impacted a tree branch with the back of his head and flipped head over heels. Then Kinji stopped Akamatsu's overhand slash with the flat surface of his mirror. Sparks showered as the high-speed discs met a substance they couldn't cut. "Hado 11: Tsuzuri Raiden." Electricity transferred from the blade to the mirror and wracked Kinji's body with spasms. When Kinji's shield didn't budge, Akamatsu followed up with a brutal kick to the gut. Kinji rolled away from his attacker and interposed the mirror between them once he was able to rise to his knees. He wanted to respond with a blast of kido but with his power limited it would simply be a waste of energy.

He'd fought on par with the two of them by relying on superior speed and his hakuda skills. Both of his enemies were injured. Takeshi had broken ribs and an arm that was little more than bone splinters inside a tube of muscle. Akamatsi had taken a shallow cut across his chest from before Kinji had released his shikai, Miko had at least left him that. But Kinji's injuries had stacked up much faster. Apart from the most recent burns from his electrocution, he had six minor gashes on his arms and chest, one deep stab wound in his right thigh and dozens of small pock marks on his face and arms from the acid. And he was slowing down. The pain and blood loss had begun taking their toll. But being at a disadvantage was par for the course in this fight. Kinji still believed he could take the two of them and he had a plan to do just that. Takeshi was nearly done for the fight, and Akamatsu was a fairly inexperienced fighter. He had no attack routines and he had to consider each move before he made it. That hesitation would give Kinji a window in which to use his finishing move, the only hakuda technique he had created himself. It was a strike meant for one on one combat because it would leave him defenseless to an attack from behind. But if he timed it right then he would be fighting one on one.

Akamatsu closed the distance and hammered his spinning blades against the mirror. Following his partner's lead, Takeshi made a thrust at Kinji's back while he was still down on his knees. Kinji heard him coming and swung his left arm out behind him. It knocked the acid coated zanpakuto high and right toward the right arm of the man keeping him pinned down. But Kinji didn't stop there, he ignored the acid eating the skin on his forearm and made a grab for Takeshi's face. The assassin was fast enough to dodge but the reaching hand caught hold of his mask and ripped it away. The two attackers disengaged. Akamatsu had to switch his sword to his off hand because Takeshi's blade had sliced deep enough to make him cautious about using his right hand in battle. The pain that would normally accomany such an injury wasn't there. Akamatsu had disabled his ability to feel pain in anticipation of this fight. It allowed him to push himself harder than he normally could. But the downside of that perk was an inability to gauge the seriousness of his injuries.

"This is embarrassing. It's two on one fifth and I'm still standing." Kinji used the stolen fabric to wipe the acid from his skin and tossed it aside. His pain tolerance was just about out. The constant burning from the acid was driving him nuts. But he kept up the facade.

Akamatsu was embarrassed as well. The fight should have been over already and he knew they were pressing their luck. A barrier as big as the one he set up was bound to be noticed eventually. The fact that it had enough power to withstand a decent strength attack from a Captain might buy them a minute after it was discovered. He felt a pulse as someone struck the barrier. They were almost out of time. "We need to finish him now."

"You were the one who said not to completely destroy the body."

"That rule still applies. But if he loses a limb I don't particularly care anymore." With that Takeshi swept his sword in a wide arc at his target. A small wave of acid appeared and tried to engulf the wounded 3rd seat. Kinji was fast enough to avoid it but Akamatsu was waiting for him when he stumbled on his injured leg. The spinning blades gashed his other leg, effectively hobbling him. But Kinji responded with a strike to Akamatsu's face. The eye gouge did precisely what it was designed to do and Akamatsu stumbled back. Even though he couldn't feel pain he could still panic at the loss of a major organ. Kinji managed to stand on his own feet, but that was all his wounds would allow. He would have to take them both on while standing still. Then the barrier shattered. Kinji hadn't even realized it was there, but he was suddenly able to feel several familiar energy signatures. He smiled like a shark. Everyone he could sense was an ally he trusted to stand with him against these two. Sui-Feng, Renji, Isane, and Lin. Any one of them would be able to put down these traitors.

"Tough luck. I wi-" an impact between his shoulders cut him off before he could finish declaring victory. The impact confused him. He could see both of the guys trying to kill him, but something had hit him from behind. Then he felt a sharp ache in the center of his chest. When he looked down he saw a silvery katana blade covered in blood coming out of his sternum. It took him a three count but it finally occurred to him that someone had stabbed him in the back. He looked behind him and he met the green eyes that had become so familiar to him.

"If you two are done being incompetent we need to leave. Now!"

"Just a moment. We need to wait for the mirror to separate from him." Akamatsu said, still holding one hand over his ruined eye.

"And when does that happen?" Lin asked. Kinji dropped to his knees as the new injury sent him into shock.

"When he is close to death."

"Lin?" Kinji asked. His mind could grasp the idea that a subordinate had betrayed him. It hadn't even been the first time that had happened. But he couldn't quite believe that the woman he loved, that seemed clear to him in that moment, had literally stabbed him in the back.

"Oh shut up." Lin twisted the blade and yanked it back out. "Just hurry up and die." Kinji heard the callousness in her voice but couldn't reconcile it with the woman he had come to know. Was it all an act? Or was her involvement here and act? He hoped beyond hope that the second one was true. But in the darker corners of his mind he was already wondering if he could kill her before he blacked out. He wasn't given time to even try. In the blink of an eye the scenery changed. He was on the wooden floor of a ruined temple. He pushed himself off the floor and to his feet.

"Kinji. You were so close. A few more days and you could have been a god. But fate seems to have intervened once again. Just like it did with your father." Miko was standing behind him at the entrance to the half-collapsed temple.

"What are you talking about? What happened here?"

"You're dying. I was hoping you'd be the one, the vessel I could fill with divinity. But despite my best efforts to keep you from the greater dangers of life you were cut down." Miko bowed to Kinji once then turned to leave. "Goodbye, I enjoyed our time together." Miko turned to leave. Kinji flash stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.

"Give it back." He growled. Even if he was dying, he wanted to die whole. "Give back my real zanpakuto!"

"Its already part of me. You won't be needing it." Kinji had reached the breaking point. He had been ambushed just as he managed to make his life worth living again. He had been betrayed in the most cruel fashion by someone he loved and trusted. And now he was being told that he would die before ever getting back that piece of himself he had been forced to live without. No, if he was going to die then he would do everyone a favor and kill the thing that had begun this disaster all those years ago. He reached for all the power he had left and used the technique he had been about to attempt on his killers. Sabeji Migite.

He focused his energy into his right hand and lunged forward. His technique wasn't flashy or complex. It was a simple, efficient, and brutal attack designed to kill an enemy. After wielding so many zanpakuto he had come to a point of realization. You didn't need to poison or freeze or burn your enemy to kill them. All you needed to do was breach their defenses for a moment and destroy some important part of their body. You didn't need to summon up huge amounts of power, or dazzle your opponent with your speed. All you had to do, was get close, and rip the heart from their chest. That's what the move was, concentrating all your strength and speed into one swift motion that ignored the possibility of a counterattack, that risked the user's life to kill the enemy.

He couldn't see her eyes behind the cloth but from the way her face twisted he could tell that she realized she wouldn't have time to dodge. Instead, she lifted the mirror the few inches she needed to block her heart. Kinji watched it all happen in slow motion, his mind speeding up to capture every instant of his last act, but his body's actions were already predetermined. He knew he needed to shift his target to her throat to avoid the mirror but he couldn't make his body respond. All he could do was watch as his hand would impact the metal and break. His last act would end in failure, the grim punctuation to a life full of disappointments.

His hand slipped into the metal as if it were water. When the strike ended his arm was in up to the elbow. He felt something rough under the palm of his hand. Acting on a hope that he didn't even let crystallize fully, he grabbed onto it and pulled. It was hard. It felt like the mirror had turned to metal once again and he was trying to pull something out of a block of solid steel. But he pulled with every last speck of will he had. He literally had nothing left to lose. He dimly heard Miko screaming at him but he didn't care. She had both hands on the mirror and was pulling on it just as hard as he was. After a few moments of straining Kinji heard a scream of twisting metal and he pulled the object free.

"You bastard! Give that ba-" Miko's demand was overpowered by the roar of the blue fire that sprang up between them.

"Not this time." Another voice answered her. Kinji looked down to the familiar sword in his hand. The voice had come from his zanpakuto, his real zanpakuto. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He had it back. After so long he had it back. But what he saw when he looked at Miko was enough to temper that long awaited joy. The blue fire that had come from his sword had burned away the strip of white cloth that had covered her eyes. There were no eyes. Two gaping holes stared back at him, not empty but filled with some terrible darkness beyond his understanding. He looked at her and suddenly realized just what he had been dealing with. Miko was just a front, a pleasant face for something old and powerful beyond words. Host had been more than just a way for the spirit to annoy him, it was a truth that meant far more than he had realized. If Lin hadn't mortally wounded him, that terrifying thing that had hidden behind Miko would have devoured him and replaced him with something else. Something other and alien.

Then it was gone. All traces of Miko disappeared behind the wall of flames. The blue fire died out and revealed the collapsed temple. The wood was quickly rotting away to nothing. He saw the forest to his left. It was filled with withered husks and dried brown leaves. The ocean to his left was flat and still, and clogged with rotting seaweed. Everything around him was rotting and dying. He tried getting back to his feet but his legs wouldn't move.

He felt so heavy. Without thinking about what it meant he laid his head back and let his heavy eyelids close. But he felt contentment deep in his heart. He had it back. He was Kinji Kotetsu for the first time in a century. A memory of his childhood flickered dimly in his mind. His little sisters were chasing him around the garden in the middle of their house. He heard their laughter like a dim echo and he nearly wept. Then he forced his eyes back open. Isane, Kiyone. His grip on his sword redoubled and he forced his eyes to open. The bloody red sky above him had cracked open revealing a deep darkness beyond it. He wasn't going to just drift off into death. Isane was close, he remembered that much. She had been very close when Lin had stabbed him. If he hadn't died yet, she would find a way to save him.


	8. Surgery and Reclamation

Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm hoping to update once a week from now until the story is done. I'll post a notification if that changes. Once again, reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated.**

All of Kinji's struggle and triumph had taken place in less than a second. Bare moments after Kinji had passed out his zanpakuto had exploded in blue fire, tossing a tarnished mirror the size of a dinner plate a dozen steps away. Akamatsu wasted no time in wrapping kido-reinforced bandages around it and activating the seal he had prepared for it. He gathered up the bundle and rejoined his co-conspirators a distance from where Kinji . She wasted no time in slinging orders at him, despite his wounded condition.

"Get us out of here now!" Lin screamed at him. He took out the roll of cloth necessary for the teleportation and tossed it in the air. Then he saw the cause for urgency. Sui-Feng was standing only a few dozen yards away from them. Her expression was caught in transition between shock and a look that promised death. But she was too late. With the cloth already surrounding them they were cut off from the outside world. In a few short moments they would be safe, and outside the Gotei 13's jurisdiction. Lin had the audacity to flash a quick smile and Sui-Feng and waved a blood-stained hand just before the trio vanished.

* * *

Isane was kneeling over her brother and pumping reiatsu into him as fast as she could without doing harm. His pulse was so weak she was afraid to stop to actually repair any of the damage to his body. Renji was standing guard over the siblings to ensure no one attacked them while Isane was working. The silver haired woman was the second most experienced healer in the Seireitei. She knew that the wounds Kinji had suffered would be fatal on someone with less power. They might even be fatal for him if he wasn't given immediate treatment. A hundred different approaches to fixing Kinji came to mind but she couldn't do any of them until his reiatsu was restored. He was so weak, and no matter what she did his reiatsu wouldn't increase anymore. Like there was something blocking her healing kido. She tried to force more into her brother and the limiting seal flared white through the blood that had blocked it from view.

"That can't be there." She said in disbelief. "Captain! We need someone from Research and Development. There's a Gentei Reiin on him and he'll die if we don't remove it."

"How the hell is that possible?" Sui-Feng demanded. Isane shook her head without looking up.

"We need to get him to Division 4." Isane continued, her eyes leaking tears. She couldn't stop herself from crying but she wouldn't let that stop her from saving her brother. "He needs immediate surgery and a reishi transfusion." She tore his robe into strips and bound his most serious wounds to slow the bleeding. The wound in his chest she had to pack with gauze first. "He's stable enough to move." She tried to take his zanpakuto out of his right hand but Kinji had a death grip on it.

"I'll take him." Sui-Feng said. Isane looked at the 85 pound woman then back to her brother who weighed more than twice that. Then she remembered that Sui-Feng was a Captain and was a lot stronger than she looked. She lifted her brother gently on the small Captain's back. Kinji's sword and feet dragged along the ground even after Sui-Feng stood upright. "I'll take him straight to Unohana and make sure no one tries to finish him off." Sui-Feng jumped into the air and tensed her legs. The subsequent flash step was so fast that Sui-Feng was gone before either Isane or Renji realized she had moved.

"Division 12. Can you get there fast?" Isane asked. Renji nodded.

"Don't worry. If I have to kick Kurotsuchi's ass to get someone to help I'll do it." then he was gone as well. Isane hurried after Sui-Feng and arrived to Captain Unohana personally preparing for surgery. She began to scrub in but Unohana stopped her.

"This is too personal for you Isane. You need to leave."

"But Captain-"

"Leave Isane. I will do everything I can." Her Captain's voice carried an unanswerable authority and Isane knew that fighting Retsu Unohana was something only idiots do. She stepped slowly from the washroom and went down the hallway. Then she turned around and started walking back toward the washroom. She went back and forth, her loyalties conflicting with each other. Her confusion and desperation was clear on her face. Even Renji could see it when he arrived at Divsion 4 with Akon in tow.

"Akon, go to Captain Unohana. She's probably in surgery right now, if anyone tries to stop you just tell them the Lieutenant gave you permission." Renji told him. Akon hurried toward the main surgery ward, having been there a few times himself, he had no trouble finding it. Isane didn't even notice the arrival of the tech specialist she had told Renji to find. "Isane, what are you doing out here? I thought you'd be assisting Captain Unohana."

"It's protocol. We're not allowed to treat members of our own family." The Lieutenant explained in a choked voice. Her cheeks were already stained with tears and she was clutching her hands to her chest. "The Captain ordered me to stay out here." Renji had never been good at dealing with sensitive emotional issues. Neither was he particularly good at talking to women. So he did the only thing he could think of that would comfort her and didn't require him to say anything. He hugged her. They were nearly the same height, Renji was only half and inch taller than Isane, but after a moment's hesitation she burried her face in his shoulder and started crying in earnest. It wasn't the practiced weeping of an actress, or a trained manipulator. It was an expression of the very real pain she was feeling. If she could help herself she would have asked Renji not to look at her. Her face was twisted in pain and splotchy. Her nose was running a little. Her shoulders heaved as she sucked in breath to continue sobbing. There was nothing beautiful or appealing about it. But Renji just held on and waited for the tall woman to finish. He let her lean on him when her legs decided to give out under her. But, eventually, she stopped.

"He'll pull through." Renji tried to reassure her. But when she looked at him with her red eyes the words caught in his throat. "I never really met the guy, but from what Captain Kuchiki told me he'll pull through just to spite the guys who tried to kill him."

"But he lost-" Isane started to say, but stopped herself. Renji didn't need to know about the artifacts, or the history of tragedy in her family. "He might not be as strong anymore. Lin took something from him."

"It doesn't matter. He's got you waiting for him, doesn't he? No self-respecting man would let himself die when there's a woman like you waiting for him to recover." he hadn't meant anything by it. But Isane blushed a deep red and buried her face back in his robe. Renji was completely oblivious and just figured she was crying again, albeit more quietly. The stood together like that until they received word on Kinji's condition.

* * *

Retsu Unohana had seen every variation on every injury there could possibly be. Or so she had thought before she got a good look at Kinji Kotetsu. The physical damage was obvious and straight forward. The stab in his chest had damaged his Saketsu and it was already reforming under the influence of her reiatsu. But his Hakusui was withered in a way she had never seen. The sheer amount of scars on his body testified to a career spent away from the comfort of the Seireitei. Most of them would be gone by the time she was done with him. But the stab wound in his chest, already healed, was refusing to disappear completely. She had seen that happen from time to time, it was called a grudge mark. The victims body refused to let go of some fragments of reiatsu from their attacker. She felt a sympathetic pulse on her own sternum. Her eyes glanced down to the zanpakuto clutched in her patient's hands. The tsuba, formerly a plain circle, now looked like melted candle wax and the blade was tarnished and pitted with rust. It wasn't actively deteriorating, but it was in grim condition.

Akon had taken one look at the Gentei Reiin, pronounced it shoddy work that would have disappeared in a few hours on its own, then dispelled it without an incantation. As soon as the seal was gone Unohana's work became much easier. But the Hakusui remained damaged. His body was rejecting the reishi transfusion so she went through their stock and found the donation Kinji had made more than a month ago. His body rejected it as well. Unohana had never seen that happen before. It made no sense.

But then her memory supplied her with Isane's requests over the last two weeks. She said that Kinji's zanpakuto had been bonded with some kind of artifact. That bonding may have tainted the reishi he donated and made his normal system reject it. She brought out a vial of Isane's reishi and injected it directly into his Hakusui. She waited for minutes, making sure the trauma of having the delicate area exposed wouldn't cause him to go into shock. The reishi was accepted by his system and some of the damage healed, but it was clear that this injury, like the damage to his zanpakuto, would take time to heal.

During the procedure she regularly glanced at the extra person in the room. She was normally assisted by two other medics, as was the case today, but there was a fourth person in the surgery room today. Captain Sui-Feng had followed procedure and donned the medical clothing of the surgical team in order to remain in the room. She hadn't said a word or moved and inch. Her eyes were fixed on the wound in Kinji's chest. The clothes were somewhat baggy on her, not many of her people were under five feet tall and as petite as the assassin.

"Captain Sui-Feng, could you go tell my Lieutenant that her brother is going to be fine?"

"No. I'm here to make sure he stays that way." Unohana had no trouble convincing others to do what she wanted. A few kind words and a smile could work minor miracles. But she didn't always force the issue when she didn't have to. And the look of wounded pride on the woman's face told her this would be one of those times.

Sui-Feng had taken her emotions and crammed them into a ball. Then she took that ball and shoved it into some dark corner of her mind. But no matter what meditative technique she employed she couldn't suppress the knowledge that she had failed, that her family had failed under her watch. No matter what else happened, she had her pride in herself and her family to support her. When Yoruichi had disappeared a century ago she had clung to that sense of pride to keep from falling apart. But Lin had shattered that pride, had destroyed the foundation of her life and identity. She had trusted Lin completely, or as completely as she had ever trusted anyone. She hadn't seen a single sign that indicated she was a traitor, not one in half a century. She knew what to do, she had to file the report so Lin Feng and Akamatsu Okubo would be put on record as traitors to be apprehended dead or alive. But part of her, the part that felt things and cared about people, made her stay with Kinji. The man was a consummate pain in the ass. He had stormed her Division and injured her subordinates, had gotten her drunk, and nearly started an all-out battle in the middle of her barracks. But she felt a sense of responsibility for his injuries. Lin was her officer, her cousin.

Not to mention that Kinji's testimony would be key to figuring out why Lin had betrayed them both.

"Emi, would you please inform the Lieutenant?" She asked the medic on her left. The woman began removing her surgical clothes and moved to the door.

"Yes Captain." she said just before leaving the room. The unranked medic had been unnerved by Sui-Feng telling her Captain no. She had never seen that before and the very idea of it made her uncomfortable. Unohana removed the anesthesia drip and took a wet cloth to wipe away the drying blood from Kinji's chest and arms. Her healing had removed many of the scars, leaving behind lines of untanned skin where the scar tissue had formerly been. Sui-Feng still didn't move from her spot in the room.

"You may removed the surgical clothes now, Captain. The surgery is over." Unohana said quietly. The smaller woman shrugged out of the white garments with a single motion, proving that the clothes were not even close to fitting. She picked them up and tossed them in the bin by the door to be laundered.

"Will he be awake and coherent soon?" she asked Unohana.

"I'm not sure. His body has sustained serious damage and if his zanapkuto is any indication, his mind is in disarray. He may wake in the next few hours or the next few days."

"Is there any way to forcefully wake him up?"

"None that I will allow, Captain Sui-Feng. You may wait with him in his room. I'm sure Isane would be happy to keep you company."

* * *

Unohana was only partially correct. His mind had indeed collapsed but she had already helped him along more than she knew. The surgery and reishi infusions had allowed Kinji to restore at least some of his soul-space. The place had literally fallen to pieces around him and his zanpakuto. And when the surgery ended he was left on a plain white landscape with no discernible ground or sky.

But as thought back, he could remember what it had looked like before Miko changed everything. And, gradually, the place grew to match his memories. A lush green forest with trees that towered hundreds of feet above him faded into being. Then the bright white sky was replaced by a dark blue canopy studded with points of silver. A huge yellow moon soon joined the stars and gave a gentle illumination to the scene. Red torii gates appeared around him and formed a kind of path through the forest.

Kinji still felt weak, but he rolled himself onto his stomach and then to his knees. He took a long time to make it to his feet and several times he had fallen back to the ground and been forced to start over, learning the basic motor functions like a child does. But once he did manage to stand on his own two feet his sword burst into a ball of light blue flame. The surprise almost knocked him back down, but there was no heat in the fire. It bobbed in the air and drifted just a little down the trail. He stepped forward slowly to follow it. His memories were still in a cluttered pile that he had only begun to sift and piece together. But his gut told him that he should follow the strange guide. His first tentative steps were slowly replaced with more confident strides and after hours he had broken into a fast jog. The flame took him on a twisting path that lead him out into the forest and back to the torii gates. Then he arrived at a stone staircase that went up a steep incline. Kinji could feel a dull ache in his muscles already. He was reluctant to push himself more but the flame would not wait for him to catch his breath.

The stairs were a somewhere in the thousands, Kinji didn't even want to count them all. His legs were columns of molten lead that he had to heave up each stair. He finally collapsed when he reached the top. His legs dangled partially over the stairs and his heaving chest was on cool gray cobblestones and his sweat covered face was appreciative of the small measure of relief.

"Don't just lay there. Come join me." Kinji tilted his head to look forward. There was a perfect copy of his family home sitting in a clearing and a woman he knew he should recognize was laying on the porch. There was a bottle of sake next to her and a dish in her hand. Kinji tried to pick himself up off the ground and dropped back with a thump. He settled for crawling over to the woman and lay panting next to her. She was beautiful, with fine features and narrow golden eyes. Her gold hair was chopped straight in the front and the rest was pulled back into a ponytail. From the middle of her neck to her mid thigh was covered in a tight black fabric. But that fabric was in turn covered by a loose kimono belted around her waist but hanging open to expose a little of her curves. She was shorter than him by a few inches. When she smiled at him he could see dainty fangs on her lower and upper rows of teeth. She also had a pair of golden furred fox ears sitting on top of her head and a similarly furred tail.

The woman smiled at him and poured a sweet smelling sake into a dish. Kinji manged to push himself against one of the support beams off to her left and picked up the dish. More light familiarity tickled the back of his mind. He picked up the dish and sipped from it. The strong flavor of plums and sweet cherries swirled over his tongue. The moment he swallowed he remembered he had tasted the very same thing before. His father had bought him a bottle of this when he received his Asuachi. Members of noble families were allowed to arm and train their children outside the stricture of the Gotei 13 if they so chose. It was a very old memory. It had taken place decades before his father had died. On impulse he had dripped some of the fine drink onto the blade of his zanpakuto. It was his first real interaction with the blade that would accompany him through his adolescence. Then the memory ended.

He looked down and saw the dish empty. The woman he was drinking with refilled it, but this time the drink was different. It had a light gold color and a light, breezy scent. He sipped at it and another memory surfaced. The flavor was a little sour and acidic, the mark of wine improperly aged. It was the very first drink he had made. He had planted the grape vines himself, picked the fruit, and pressed it himself. It had been the first thing he made by himself, and his first of many failures. He saw the woman's face through a haze of morning mist and saw her speaking, but couldn't hear her words.

The dish was empty again. "You're my zanpakuto." Kinji states to the woman who was sipping her own drink. She gave him another smile and lifted a glass bottle filled with a dark red liquid. Kinji held out his dish and she poured. Kinji swirled the wine in the dish and put it to his lips. The memory began even before it touched his lips. He was in pain, very real pain. He had a gash opened in his side by a hollow. Not mortally serious, but it was still very painful. His sister was dabbing at it with a damp cloth and beginning to apply a bandage. Kinji drank from a bottle dry red of wine he had made a few years before that had come out unusually strong. "I still need practice. Kitsunebi's power isn't the easiest to use." The vision faded away again. But this time other memories were beginning to fill in the blanks between the ones his zanpakuto had explicitly shared with him.

"Kitsunebi. Your name is Kitsunebi."

"Of course it is. Keep going, you haven't even gotten to the fun parts yet." she poured another drink. And so it went. Each new drink brought more memories and he felt very keenly the emotions that went with those memories. Some were happy, some triumphant, some bitter failures. But all were parts of him that he cherished. He remembered his childhood with his family, remembered his nights of debauchery with the other heirs of the noble houses. He remembered getting the fox tattoo and the subsequent hangover.

The last drink was a dark syrupy red. Kinji started at it for a long time. It smelled like fresh blood. He could feel the pain and bitterness in the memory just holding it there. And those emotions hit him full force when he let the blood pass his lips. Then he was back on that cold night, with his father's blood spattering his face and mouth. The sword had been driven in up to the hilt and he could feel his father's pulse fading away. Then a blinding white light shot from the wound into his own chest. He could feel the cold intelligence pressing on his mind. The horror and sudden self-loathing made him react in the only way he believed he could. He pulled his zanpakuto from his father's body and stabbed himself in the center of his chest, before the possessing spirit could work its influence on him. He screamed from the pain and collapsed onto his side. Then he surrendered to the blackness crowding the edges of his vision.

When the memory ended Kinji's face felt wet and he knew they were tears. But the dish was empty, and he hoped there would be no more. But his zanpakuto held out one more bottle. This one was different. The bottle was more like a gray metallic vase that slimmed toward the top

"What is that?" Kinji asked. The smile disappeared from Kitsunebi's face.

"The missing piece." she said simply. But he understood what the words meant. It was the piece of him that Miko had taken from him to ensure he wouldn't try to force her out. It was his drive, his ambition, and his lust for all that life had to offer. "This one is going to hurt." she warned when Kinji reached for the bottle. He snorted.

"I've gotten used to pain." Kinji boasted lightly. He poured the drink into his dish and the look of it made him pause. It was a pure clear liquid, but once it was in the dish he could see bright blue flames swirling around. He downed the dish as quickly as he could. He choked a little at the burning sensation but he kept it all down. Forgoing the dish he upended the bottle and emptied it all at once. The pain multiplied with each gulp. As soon as it was empty he tipped over onto the floor. It felt like he was being burned alive from the inside. He couldn't scream, couldn't even move. The pain rapidly became the whole of his mind. His zanpakuto watched him with intense interest as he shook where he lay. Small flames danced on his skin once in a while when he gasped and tried to suck in breath. The agony that initially shook him dimmed to an insistent, full body ache after a few minutes. Kitsunebi lifted him to a sitting position again. Kinji's face was pale and drawn but a smile played at the corners of his mouth. Though lines of blood ran from the edges of that smile there was a spark in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Now you're my master again." The spirit said softly.

"It's been way too long Kitsunebi." Kinji was still in pain but it felt less real as he said her name. He had reclaimed himself, he was Kinji Kotetsu once more. He smiled in full. His memories, both those he had made after Miko possessed him and those before had formed a whole. He wasn't the Kinji from before or the one from after. He was both and neither, and amalgam of the two. And he was loving it. The memories of the terrible things he'd done tugged at his heart like never before, but the good memories lifted him higher than they had for the first time in a century. He was fully awake and alive. "This place is pretty nostalgic."

"Yes it is. Much better than the lightless hole

that thing shoved me into. But we can catch up later. You've been asleep for almost a full day since you nearly died. There are other people who need to see you." She helped him to his feet.

"When I'm well again, I need to start training for bankai." Kinji told her in no uncertain terms.

"We'll see." she allowed. Then Kinji opened sluggish eyelids to see three people sitting next to his bed. Isane, Renji, and Sui-Feng. He saw Isane and Renji were sleeping and leaning against each other. He chuckled a little.

"Still got it." he muttered. He'd managed to get Renji and Isane to share a moment of intense emotion. And all he'd had to do was get himself nearly killed.

"And what would that be?" Sui-Feng, still wide awake after two days of keeping watch over him, asked with all the patience and civility she could muster. He could see dark circles under her eyes and realized she hadn't slept.

"Nii-sama?" Isane asked blearily.

"Hey Isa. You seem taller." He said with a smile. He'd used the baby name he'd called her when they were both still very young. The name brought tears to her eyes and a smile to her lips. She fell onto him and squeezed him tight, ignoring the comment about her height entirely. Her sudden lean forward caused Renji to tip over and lean between Isane and the back of her chair. He didn't wake up right away. But when he did he put his hand on the nearest surface and used it to push himself back upright. Kinji heard Isane squeak as Renji's hand put pressure on her backside. She sat back upright with a deep blush covering her entire face. Unfortunately that trapped the red-haired man's hand underneath her. Renji joined Isane in blushing before she stood upright and let him retract his hand.

"Captain Abarai." Kinji said as sternly as he could with his parched throat. "I may be in the hospital, but I will do my best to kick your ass if you don't treat my sister with more respect."

"Yeah, sorry about that Isane."

"I-it's fine. How are you feeling?" she asked her brother.

"Yes," Sui-Feng interrupted, "how are you feeling?"

"Like someone stabbed me in the back and ripped my heart out." He tried to raise his right hand and scratch at the stubble on his face, but he smacked himself in the head with the flat of his zanpakuto. He was surprised to still be holding it and tried to set it down. His fingers were locked tight on it and he used his left hand to pry the digits open. The sword now lay on his lap and he looked fondly at the blade he had missed for so long. The hilt was wrapped with blue and white cord and the tsuba was polished brass star with seven points and surrounded by a thin circle.. The blade was no longer damaged, but a perfect surface of steel and razor sharp.

"Do you know why Lin attacked you, or who those other two men were?" Sui-Feng asked impatiently.

"They were after and artifact that I had. They got it too, from what I can tell. But I don't know why Lin was a part of it, or the identity of the other two men. I hadn't met either of them before then." Kinji reached for a glass of water on the nightstand but Isane beat him to it. She let him drink half the glass then set it back down. Sui-Feng looked like she was about to explode.

"Why did she do it?" Sui-Feng demanded.

"If I had to guess, she was promised something by the Tenshin, the ones who wanted the artifact. Well, I'm pretty sure its them."

"What artifact?"

"I wish I could tell you, but if you want to know you need to talk to the Captain-Commander." Sui-Feng grabbed Kinji by the white robe he was wearing and tugged him close to her face.

"You'll tell me everything you know now!"

"I can't. But I can tell you this. If the Tenshin figure out how to use what they took from me, things are going to get bad very soon." Kinji sat up straighter and climbed out of the bed. Isane tried to restrain him but Kinji waved her off. He took Sui-Feng's hand, firmly away from his robe. Or he tried. Her grip tightened and hauled him away from his bed. He quickly grabbed his zanpakuto, not willing to be away from it for any length of time.

"We're going to go see Captain Yamamoto. Now." Sui-Feng demanded. She began dragging Kinji toward the door.

"Captain Sui-Feng, please stop. He isn't fully recovered yet!" Isane protested. Renji took more direct action. He placed himself between Sui-Feng and the door.

"Move it Abarai." she growled.

"No." He said sternly, even if he didn't feel like much of a barrier against someone like her.

"What's going on in here?" Captain Unohana appeared in the doorway.

"I need to take Kotetsu here with me for a meeting."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible for at least another day, Captain Sui-Feng. As happy as I am to see that my patient is awake and in good condition, I cannot let you take him until he is released from my care." The tension ignited the air between the two women. _This is what I love about you Kinji, you never let things get boring._ The sly voice in his head made his smile a bit wider.

"This is my jurisdiction Unohana. Don't get in my way." Sui-Feng tried to push past the older woman with Kinji it tow. Unohana put a hand gently on the shorter woman's forehead and Sui-Feng collapsed. Or she would have if Kinji hadn't grabbed her. Despite his weakened condition he could still support the 90 pound woman with little trouble.

"Thank you, Captain." Kinji said.

"You're my patient. I wouldn't let her take you anywhere until you're healthy enough to leave. Now back to bed. It's late and you need rest."

"I appreciate it, but I'm actually feeling-" Unohana put a hand on his head and he went down just as fast as Sui-Feng. Renji and Isane jumped to catch the both of them.

"You've gotta teach me that one." Renji said, in awe of the woman.

"She just interrupted their reiatsu a little to let their body's exhaustion overwhelm their willpower. Its a trick we use when a patient is resistant to sedatives." Isane explained. She began to tuck her brother back into bed. Unohana said goodnight to them and retired to her own quarters. Renji set Sui-Feng back in the chair she had spent the last 18 hours in. Then he had an idea. It was either the most brilliant idea or the most idiotic idea he had ever conceived of. But either way, he was going to make it a reality.

"Isane, I need to know if you can keep a secret."

"I think so. Why?" She was a little worried by the look on Renji's face. She'd seen that look before and it usually ended with him in the infirmary.

"I have an idea.."


	9. Pranks and Captains

Chapter 9

**Division 4 Infirmary**

Gentle sunlight played over his eyelids and brought him gently out of a pleasant dream involving a sandy beach and a dog. Some of the sensations seemed to stay with him while he transitioned from sleep to wakefullness. The feeling of a light breeze and the sun. The softness of the sand beneath him. The gentle, warm pressure of the dog laying against him. Then the sleep finished draining away and so did the sensations. Except for the pressure on his right side and across his chest. A slender arm was laid across his chest. He recognized the arm and the body it was attached to. Kinji's whole body twitched on reflex when he realized Sui-Feng was laying in his bed with the blankets mostly kicked away. She had spread out from where Renji had first laid the petite woman to the point where she had pressed herself tightly against Kinji. In response to the twitch, Sui-Feng pressed more tightly against him and gripped his robe with surprisingly powerful hands. She had originally placed her head on his shoulder but when she moved she nuzzled her head right against the side of his neck. The feeling of her breath on his neck sent an electric shock of sensation all the way down to his toes.

_Good morning. Looks like you had a wonderful night. _The zanpakuto had taken a nap while Kinji slept. But when Kinji woke up so did Kitsunebi. And as a being who enjoyed entertainment above most things, she found the current situation was crammed full of potential. And she wouldn't just sit back passively and watch it unfold without prodding Kinji a little.

_**What did I do to deserve this?**_ He wondered silently. Despite both of them still being fully clothed, he knew how Sui-Feng would react when she woke up. He might be in the hospital for a lot longer if that happened.

_ Why is this a bad thing? She's quite the catch and you must admit she is pretty in this light._ Kitsunebi joked. Kinji stopped looking at the rational side of the situation, partially to see what Kitsunebi was talking about, but mostly because rationally examining what was going to happen when she woke up was scaring him senseless. He took a moment to appreciate how she felt pressed against him and the faint smell of honeysuckle coming from her hair. The contented sigh when she adjusted herself to get comfortable was like music to his ears. He felt a sense of intense male pride when he heard that sound. As he felt her breathe steadily in and out he began to relax. His heart slowed back to a resting rate and his eyelids grew heavy. _**This is nice.**_

_Enjoy it. Life exists for the love of music, fine food, and beautiful things. _Kinji felt himself begin drifting back to sleep. Despite a solid 7 hours of rest his body was still recovering and he felt exhausted. His mind was just on the edge of sleep when a cascade of sonic energy rattled his brain inside his skull.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Sui-Feng shouted loud enough to rattle the glass in the window and wake every patient within 200 yards of their room.

"Good morning." Kinji grumbled. The woman's dark gray eyes met his lighter ones and his heart-rate remained surprisingly steady. He thought he would be terrified when she woke up and tried to kill him. But she had woken up and she wasn't killing him. She also hadn't completely disentangled herself from him. "Why are you in my bed?" He asked as innocently as he possibly could. She trembled with contained rage and embarrassment. Now that he was fully awake and thinking, his mind reviewed the last few moments he could remember before waking up in the bed. Captain Unohana had done something to put both of them to sleep. She wasn't the kind of person to set them up like this. Neither was Isane. But Renji Abarai was, and Isane would probably allow a mostly harmless prank.

"How did I end up here?" she said, tamping down on the anger pulsing behind her eyes. She did indeed have the impulse to kill him, but she retrained it. Contrary to popular belief, she hadn't become Captain by murdering anyone who got on her nerves. If she had, there wouldn't have been a Division left for her to lead.

"Best guess? A certain trouble-making red head thought this would be amusing." Kinji had taken the joke in stride, enjoyed it to a point. But like all amateur pranksters Renji hadn't considered the consequences. Kinji had no intention of protecting him from the results of his own joke.

"Abarai." The petite Captain growled. Her fellow Captain was going to be in for a world of payback when she caught up with him.

"Um, Captain? Not that I don't enjoy the company of a beautiful woman, but could you let me up?" Kinji said as delicately as he could. Sui-Feng suddenly realized the position she occupied in relation to him. She was nearly straddling his chest. A light blush colored her face and she got off the bed.

"You won't say a word of what happened here to anyone." She demanded. Kinji sat up and smiled at her.

"You have my word. But I can't say the same for Captain Abarai." He reminded her. He didn't mention Isane, she wasn't the gossiping type. And he didn't want her to go after his sister.

"Oh, he's going to pay for this." she said. Then after a moment of thought she added, "After we go have a talk with Yamamoto." Kinji nodded to her and rose from his bed to stand in front of the small, functional wardrobe in the room. A new shihakusho and some basic grooming supplies were there. He looked back at the Captain, giving her a silent request for some privacy. She snorted at him, "Hurry it up, I don't have time to waste on your modesty." Kinji shook his head a little and got himself ready as quickly as possible. He retied his hair, suddenly very annoyed with how long it was. He promised himself a haircut as soon as he had some free time. He wiped himself down with a wet rag and pulled his robes on. The whole thing only took a couple minutes.

Sui-Feng stood there, keeping him at the corner of her vision, allowing him some privacy while still keeping an eye on him. _So how was it, Bee?_Suzumebachi's voice asked.

_**How was what?**_ Sui-Feng replied automatically. She immediately regretted asking.

_Being called beautiful. And by a hot guy too._ Ignoring the beautiful comment altogether, Sui-Feng looked more closely at Kinji. He was wiping off his skin with a wet cloth. She examined the lines of his body and face. He wasn't unattractive, she mused, but neither was he traditionally handsome. His eyes were too narrow, and the lines of his face reminded her a little of Ichimaru Gin.

Then she focused on her ability to read spiritual pressure. Though he was as strong as he had been when she first met him, there was something about him that seemed different. There was a kind of flexibility in the way he held himself and how he moved. Like at a moment's notice he might vanish or become something entirely different. She'd met him several times before, but now the impression he left, both from his actions and his reiatsu, was vastly different. When she had spoken with him he acted entirely on defense, he responded only, took no initiative. Like a mirror.

But now he seemed as active and as partially present as a flame. It existed and could be seen, but it could not be grasped and it could vanish if the wind blew just so. But like the flame there was an strange pull toward him.

Kinji tied his robes with a sharp gesture, breaking the strange trance Sui-Feng had fallen into. He stood and stretched a bit, trying to work some of the tenderness from his muscles. "Ready." he said simply and they both made for the door. Sui-Feng took the lead on their walk to Division 1.

"We could talk on the way. You know, to pass the time." Kinji said to her back.

"I don't really do small talk." she said evenly. Despite the strange morning and the delays in completing her mission, things were moving along more smoothly than she had expected.

"You're missing out. Small talk is an art, and a powerful weapon. How do you think Lin managed to worm her way into my heart?" Kinji spoke without heat or anger. The lack of pain in his voice made Sui-Feng look over her shoulder.

"You're a cold bastard, aren't you." she said, a hint of approval in her voice

"No. I'm just not the same guy. Short version is that I've been walking around brainwashed for about 130 years. But apparently being stabbed in the chest undid it."

"Brainwashed?" Sui-Feng huffed a little. "What was that like?" she asked sarcastically, she didn't buy it.

"It was awful, all my thoughts were so dull and plodding, like some glacially moving freight train of suck." Kinji said with a strange enthusiasm. Sui-Feng was reading his facial expressions and body language, but for all she could see he was genuinely happy. Had he lost it?

"Are you sure your head is in working order? Because you sound a little like Kurotsuchi right now." Kinji's joy dimmed a little.

"That was just cruel. It's not that I'm not nursing a grudge, I'm just too happy right now to focus on being angry. I have my life back." She felt his reiatsu flare and she stopped walking. The smile on his face grew sharp and his eyes narrowed further. "But Lin has some things to answer for when I see her. She got close to me, got me to trust her, and betrayed me to my enemies. If I get to her before you do, Captain, there won't be anything left for you to interrogate."

"You think you can find her before me?" Sui-feng scoffed. She began walking again and didn't even bother looking at Kinji when she said "My blood, my problem."

"I know exactly where she is." Kinji said, the cheer back in his voice. "But while she's there neither of us can touch her." Sui-Feng looked back over her shoulder, expecting Kinji to explain more. But Kinji just smiled and said nothing.

"I can order you to tell me where she is." the assassin reminded him.

"You could." he agreed.

"But you wouldn't tell me if I did." she inferred from his tone of voice.

"It's complicated." Kinji replied.

"I hate politics." Sui-Feng grumbled. Kinji chuckled a little. This was politics at its worst and Sui-Feng was still standing in the shallow end of the pool. He wondered how she would react when he helped Yamamoto shove her in the deep end. The scenarios that ran through his mind set his zanpakuto to giggling. _**Enjoying yourself?**_

_ More than you know. There are so many interesting individuals in the Gotei 13._ He could nearly feel the anticipatory glee coming from the spirit. _There will unfold before me a conflict of magnificent scope and unbelievable energy. And in that dream of battle I will walk for a time as the gods of old, immortal and master of all I survey._ He had heard that tone from her before. She was quoting from something she had read. Or, more accurately, something he had been forced to skim as a boy but had forgotten as soon as he could. His parents had paid for tutors and scholars of history and the arts, alongside his more traditional martial training.

_**Who said that?**_

_That isn't important. The meaning is that a life made from compromise is dull and worth relatively little. The point of all life is battle._

_**I thought the point was the love of beautiful things.**_

_ Love is just another kind of battle. _She chided him. He gave a mental sigh.

Kitsunebi longed for the finest that life had to offer, to have a front row seat to the making of history, to sample delicacies, to imbibe philosophy and poetry from the wise of ages past. In other words, she was demanding and utterly impractical. As was the form that hit Kinji at waist level in a flying tackle. The golden-haired impact knocked him to the ground and made his whole body ache.

"Look out" Sui-Feng deadpanned over her shoulder. Kinji only saw a glimpse of her face from where he lay, but he managed to catch the edge of a wicked smile. She had seen the living missile coming and decided not to warn him.

"Theytoldmeyouwereinthehospital!" the human cannonball blurted. Kinji had to take a moment to decipher it. Kiyone had rattled his brain a little when she collided with him.

"Kiyone." he said and put a hand on the top of her head. Her enthusiasm had gotten the better of her, as usual. Her eyes were tinged with tears.

"You idiot! You scared us all half to death!" she berated him.

"It's OK. Don't start crying, it'll only make you shorter." it was a taunt he had used many times when they were growing up. He said it affectionately while stroking her hair but the words made her eyes tear up even more. It and his genuine smile signaled to her that her brother, all of her brother, was alive.

"If you two are done, we have a meeting to get to." Sui-Feng said impatiently. Kiyone stiffened in his arms when she heard his voice.

"Sorry! I'm sorry Captain." she apologized and jumped to her feet. _**Well, that was quite a reaction.**_ Kinji mused. "Make sure you come see me as soon as the meeting is over." Kiyone said, looking him straight in the eye.

"I'll be there in a couple hours." Kinji promised. Kiyone gave one more sidelong look at Sui-Feng and ran off. Kinji turned his inquisative gaze on the woman. She merely turned and started walking. There was no more conversation between them either before or after the meeting with Yamamoto. Especially once it was revealed to her the scope of the conspiracy that had grown under her watch. And the fact that the Onmitsukido was purposefully not informed of this plot or the actions taken by Yamamoto made her leave the meeting in a rage.

"She took that well." Kinji was left alone with Yamamoto in his office. The old man had one eye open and fixed on Kinji's zanpakuto.

"Do you remember everything now?"

"Yes." Kinji said. Yamamoto expected more but Kinji didn't seem willing to volunteer anything else.

"Submit a written report to me by the end of the day tomorrow. Your exam has been postponed for a month. Is that long enough for you to prepare?" Now that was a loaded question. Was a month long enough for him to achieve bankai with his real zanpakuto? Could he do it at all? "I'm relieving you of command until after your exam. Division 3 will fall under the command of Captain Komamura until you have earned the position of Captain." For Yamamoto it wasn't a question of could, it was a question of when. _Be at peace. A month should be sufficient for you to grasp the minimum required. _His zanpakuto assured him.

"I will do as you command." Kinji bowed to the strongest of all soul reapers and was dismissed.

* * *

Kinji followed Kiyone's reiatsu to Division 13 where she was helping her Lieutenant put the Division through some stamina training. She saw him and immediately started waving. "Nii-sama! Over here!" she was practically jumping up and down. Kinji walked over to her, taking his time to key her up even more. The green haired arrancar had noticed Kiyone's behavior and seen Kinji walking down the hill behind her.

"Oh, hello Kotetsu-sama." Nel said politely. Kinji's mouth quirked into a wry smile.

"Kotetsu-sama? You outrank me Lieutenant." Kinji tried to sound disarming. But a small blush of embarrassment colored the arrancar's face.

"I'm sorry, Kotetsu-san." she stammered.

"To be honest, I'd prefer Kinji." he said with a more genuine smile. Kiyone patted her Lieutenant on the shoulder to interrupt Kinji's fun.

"He's just playing with you, you can call him whatever you want." Neliel looked at her subordinate, then back at Kinji. The smile on his face had the guilty quality of a child having been caught sneaking a cookie. Kiyone stomped over to Kinji and demanded, "Do you have to mess with her like that? She's my Lieutenant. Captain Ushii wouldn't like you doing that."

"Doing what? We're just reintroducing ourselves. Right, Neliel tu Odelschvank?" The green haired woman started at being addressed by her full name, perfectly pronounced. She hadn't told it to him last time they'd met. Kiyone stomped on her brother's foot with considerable force. Kinji's smile faltered and his face looked strained. "Was that really necessary?"

"You're being mean Nii-san!" Kiyone protested. Kinji heaved a sigh.

"Fine. So, what did you ask me to come down here for anyway? I'm still kind of tired from being in the hospital."

"Oh, right! I wanted you to meet my Captain. He said you two had something you needed to talk about?" Kinji didn't let his expression change in the least. He didn't think he had anything to discuss with Anrak Ushii. "Captain!" Kiyone shouted at the top of her lungs.

"The Captain's busy right now you little ding-bat!" came a man's voice from a good distance away.

"Shut up Sentaro! The Captain wanted a meeting and his guest is here!" for someone so small Kiyone could generate a lot of noise. The long distance conversation went on for a minute or two before a third voice joined the shouting.

"Would the two of you stop before I go deaf!" Anrak Ushii slid open the door to his office where he had been approving the admission forms for several new soul reapers to his Division. But when the guy supposed to be helping you was shouting out the window at the top of his lungs it was impossible to concentrate on committing the new names to memory. He flash stepped to the training grounds, appearing right next to Nel. "Now what is it Kiyone?"

"I brought my brother here like you asked Captain!" she said enthusiastically.

"Oh, wow. Didn't waste any time. I thought he was still in the hospital." Anrak said.

"Actually he's standing here really confused." Kinji interrupted. He didn't like being discussed as if he wasn't there.

"Right. Can you come to my office for a few minutes?" Anrak said politely.

"I can." Kinji said. But he didn't move. Anrak's pleasant smile disappeared.

"Please come to my office so we can talk." the Captain insisted.

"Alright. Lead the way." Kinji agreed. Anrak lead him back to the office where he immediately ordered Sentaro to leave. When the room was empty he motioned for Kinji to sit down on the chair opposite his desk.

"Renji told me what happened two days ago. I'm sorry about Lin, if its any consolation she had me fooled too." _She didn't fool me._ Kagi commented in his head. While it was something of an exaggeration it wasn't untrue. Kagi had expressed distaste for Lin's zanpakuto and skepticism of her behavior when she had visited the 13th Division. But suddenly Kagi's presence retreated from his thoughts. Her attention had been usurped by Kinji's zanpakuto, Kitsunebi. When zanpakuto communicate directly with each other or engage in combat, their interior realms collide and create a middle ground.

#

Kitsunebi was already waiting in that space and had actively called for Anrak's zanpakuto to join her. The space was a forest in late fall with a huge yellow moon overhead and shadows drifting along the ground like an evening fog. The fox-woman was sitting on a particularly large tree branch, a sake dish in hand and a clay bottle tied to her right hand. Kagi entered the world and squinted a bit. The moonlight wasn't as strong as sunlight but it was far brighter than she was accustomed to.

"Alright, what's your sales pitch?" Kagi asked testily. She didn't like being away from her Anrak for any length of time. But Kitsunebi said she would provide some kind of compensation. The strangeness of the offer was enough to make Kage Shitsukoi curious.

Kitsunebi jumped down from the tree and produced a second sake dish, holding hers with her teeth. Kagi took the red cup and watched as Kitsunebi poured plum sake into it. Golden eyes met Kagi's darker ones and crinkled at the corners. "Just a chat. I'm not trying to convince you of anything." Kitsunebi lied. "Drink up, this is some of the best I have." then she took a generous sip from her own dish. Kagi looked at the pale gold liqueur. She had never had sake, didn't even know it was possible for zanpakuto to obtain such a thing. "It isn't real. It's a memory, one that I can share with anyone I wish."

"Just get to your point." Kagi said testily before she took a sip. The incarnated memory was instantly intoxicating. The flavor was potent and made her lips tingle as it passed them. Her next breath came out as a surprised gasp. She felt a strong warmth pool in her stomach and her vision blurred for a second. But the sensation was fleeting and quickly disappeared.

"You're a zanpakuto who thrives in battle, right?" Kitsunebi asked

"As opposed to what?" Kagi asked sarcastically. Kitsunebi refilled her own drink before answering.

"In my opinion time can be spent on much better things." Kagi immediately wrote her new drinking buddy off as having a screw loose. She was the manifestation of a weapon. She was made for battle. Any zanpakuto that didn't like conflict was defective in her opinion. "But consider this an invitation to the most important battle that will ever be fought." She snapped her fingers and Kagi's vision was suddenly filled with a terrifying image. A snapshot of Miko's true essence. Kagi was a spirit of fire and shadow, but the emptiness and oblivion promised by the darkness in Miko's empty eyes sockets made her feel dread. Thankfully she was only treated to few moments of horror before the image faded to nothing.

"What...the hell...was that?!" Kagi was breathing hard, genuine fear choking her. She had felt fear before, but only on Anrak's account. Nothing, not arrancar, not Zaraki, and not even Yamamoto had been the cause of fear in the proud spirit. But whatever that vision had been of, it wasn't so gentle as fear based in reason. The mere image had been enough to threaten her existence.

"An enemy. One that may yet be loosed on Soul Society. For that reason I am seeking out strong zanpakuto. Please, plead with your master to join our cause." Kagi's fear was fast disappearing and hearing Kitsunebi ask her to plead with Anrak brought a chuckle out of her.

"I don't do pleading. If I decide to help you out, the idiot holding me will too." Kitsunebi bowed to the proud spirit, then slung the jug over her back and started to leave.

"Then I'll just have to trust you to make the right choice." The kitsune woman vanished from the shared space in a haze of blue fire. Kagi, likewise, faded into the shadows and returned to her own world.

#

"So, how does that work exactly, being from a noble family and being in the Gotei 13?" Anrak started off with an easy question, not pressing the other man too much too soon. Kinji sat back and relaxed his posture.

"It isn't all that complicated. I'm part of the military structure and subject to most of the same laws, but my actions carry additional weight and I'm a little insulated from certain punishments. Short of treason they won't levy imprisonment or a death sentence. They can't afford to offend any of the four Great Houses." Kinji said, giving the bare bones of how the two positions interacted.

"Why? I mean, I know the nobles have their own troops and guards but-" Anrak started. Kinji interrupted him when he saw where the Captain's train of thought was leading.

"The reasons for Central 46 stepping cautiously around us isn't because of our military strength. We control the trade and economics. Where do you think the food in the mess hall comes from, or the clothes and raw materials for out equipment comes from? The Four have large monopolies on all aspects of economics for the Seireitei. My family helps to organize and protect the farmers in the Rukongai. Imagine what would happen if we decided to cause a food shortage? Or if the Kuchiki decided to cut off crafted goods. The Seireitei lives and dies on the cooperation and goodwill of the Four Great Noble Houses."

"How did that happen exactly?"

"I could give you a copy my old history books. But here's the short version: 1200 years back, before the Gotei 13 existed, the Kotetsu, Shihouin, Tenshin, Kuchiki, and Shiba all had their own little cities and would occasionally go to war with each other. Things were bad under this system. Hollows ran rampant in the Living World, souls in the Rukongai were little better than slaves, and worst of all was the constant conflict. When Yamamoto came along with the Gotei 13 he offered the head of each family a Captain's seat as a way to ease the transition. But if he hadn't been so ridiculously strong and if the Soul King hadn't issued an edict we might still be under that system."

"Wow, and you're the head of your House? Where does Kiyone fit in to this whole thing?"

"Well, if I don't carry on the family line and neither does Isane then her kids will be the next nobles of the main branch. But if either Isane or I have kids then she becomes the head of a new branch family." Kinji had no reservation in explaining these basic things to a Captain, he was actually surprised Anrak didn't ask Kiyone any of these things.

"But not everyone is happy with the way things are, right? Some nobles want things back the way they were before Yamamoto?"" Anrak asked. Kinji's posture shifted slightly. Was Anrak fishing for information?

"Not exactly. No one wants things the way they were. But there is a political faction that believes nobles should be treated as superior to all others and that station should be determined by bloodline only. But why are you asking me? Kiyone knows all of this. So does the Kuchiki girl in your Division."

"Careful, she might take a shot at you if you call her a girl." Anrak warned. "I'm asking because you are the head of a House and I know you're not with these guys. Otherwise they wouldn't have tried to kill you." Kinji smiled a little crookedly. So that was what this meeting was about. An outright assassination attempt on a high ranking officer apparently set people on edge. Including Anrak, three Captains had taken an interest in this situation. Four if you count Renji. Kinji didn't count Renji.

"Be careful. You're stepping into something you don't understand." Kinji said testily. _He is strong. You need allies and he seems intent on being part of this whether you let him or not. _

"Then explain it better." Anrak replied, his patience beginning to fray.

"If you decide to get involved, they'll come at you from every direction. Friends, family, subordinates. They all become targets."

"Yeah, like my arrancar wife wouldn't be targeted by these blood purist nutjobs anyway." Anrak shot back.

"You have a point there." Kinji admitted. _We can use him._ Kitsunebi pressed. Kinji gave a mental sigh and bowed to the pressure. "I'll tell you everything I know. But in the end, you might not be able to help without becoming a traitor to the Gotei 13."

"What do you mean?"

"Without evidence of treason, none of the Divisions or Central 46 can take action against one of the Houses. As a Captain you will be ordered to refrain from open hostilities until there is strong evidence to convict a family. Even when the evidence is clear, Central 46 usually doesn't call for an investigation or punishments. Why do you think Captain Kuchiki didn't try to save Rukia? If he wanted, he could have simply granted asylum to his sister, but in doing so he would have strained his family's relationship to the Gotei 13 to the breaking point." Kinji gave the Captain a wry smile. "I can't believe how many people thought he was just going along with it out of some misguided sense of honor." From the way Ahaz flinched, Kinji could tell that he had been one of those. Not surprising really, what else would people think when they didn't know the politics involved? Not that Byakuya would care what people thought of him enough to correct their opinions.

"So, you're telling me that I might be ordered to do nothing even if the Houses start killing each other? That has to be the stupidest-"

"You're not wrong there. But on the other side of the coin, the nobles in the Gotei 13 are somewhat insulated from these conflicts..." A hand went to the scar on his chest, when he thought about Lin the scar seemed to pulse with anger and resentment, "...most of the time." He leveled a serious gaze at the Captain for the first time since they met. The sudden intensity made Anrak's eyes go hard. "My sister is in your keeping. Do you understand what that means?"

"I get it." Anrak replied, steel in his voice and in his eyes. "She can take care of herself, and no one in my Division is going to leave one of their own to die or turn traitor."

"I thought the same thing about mine." Kinji reminded the Captain. "A betrayal you see coming isn't a betrayal." Kinji said, repeating something one of his teachers had told him. Kinji decided he'd had enough of the conversation. But when he got to his feet to leave, Anrak stopped him.

"Before you head out there, how did you convince Sui-Feng not to kill you? If Renji had pulled that joke on me, she would have ripped my head off."

"Convince her? Why should I have to do anything like that? Nothing happened." Kinji lied with a smile. Then he left the office, shutting the door behind him. He said goodbye to Kiyone on the way out and made straight for the Kotetsu manor. He needed an isolated area where he wouldn't be left vulnerable. There was only one place he could think of that fit the bill.

**A/N: Well, here's another set-up chapter. But since the last 7 or 8 chapters are going to be mostly fighting, I hope you guys won't mind. **


	10. Tests and Trials

**A/N: OK, a once a week updates was clearly too ambitious an idea. This was not my favorite chapter to write, but at least it let me provide some background on my favorite OC character of this story. Next chapter we see more Renji, Isane, and Sui-Feng. As always reviews are appreciated.**

Chapter 10

**Bankai Training-Day 28**

"Yukine, I know my mother asked you keep an eye on me. But you don't have to stay down here the whole month." Kinji complained. Yukine, his mother's most trusted attendant, had been the only other person who had been allowed into the Stone Forest, a maze of underground pillars and corridors underneath his family's estate. It was their fortress of last resort should war actually break out. Msot of the time it was kept sealed up. But for Kinji's bankai training it was ideal. He could train as intensively as he wanted and not harm a single person, or draw the attention of his enemies. Haru Kotetsu had been reluctant to let him go down there, but she had agreed it was the best of all possible options. Then she had insisted Kinji be watched over in case anything went wrong.

Yukine had been there with him for a little over 3 weeks. She had learned to keep her distance though, neither Kinji nor Kitsunebi showed her much consideration when they got into it. She had been burned on the first day and nearly hit by falling stone on the second. The brown-haired woman had survived much worse as the attendant of the Kotetsu, but as the fighting grew more intense she had been forced to watch from a long way off. Not that she would have been able to see much if she had been closer. When the zanpakuto activated her powers everything went pitch black and was only occasionally lit by flashes of blue fire. "I have my orders, Kotetsu-sama." Yukine responded. Kinji sighed despondently.

"I don't know how to talk to you." Kinji said with an overblown amount of resignation. They both opened up their rations for the day and started eating. Kinji reflected on how far he had come in his training. He could feel his reiatsu building and changing. His relationship with Kitsunebi was changing as well. He could feel how close he was. But whatever last step he had to take was still eluding him. He tried to think back through the phases of his training.

**Day 1**

Kinji built his reiatsu to a high point and channeled it into his zanpakuto. Blue fire exploded out and filled the room around him. When they died down, his zanpakuto spirit was standing opposite from him. She looked much like she had in his mind, tall, healthy, and golden-eyed. Her ears and tail twitched slightly as her body adjusted to the low temperature in the cavern.

"Might as well get started." Kinji said. She gave him a sharp smile.

"Patience. There are things that need to be said first." She conjured a katana for herself from the blue flames dancing on her hands. "This won't be a simple contest of strength. There are things you need to learn, things you need to demonstrate. Simply put, know yourself, better yourself, conquer yourself." The dank air closed in around Kinji a little. He knew this wasn't going to be simple or easy. But now that he was standing here, his nerves were starting to fray. Kitsunebi read the discomfort in his expression and frowned in response. Her master barely got his sword up in time to keep her from cutting off the top half of his head. "That's the first thing that has to change. Stop dreading challenges. Every challenge is an opportunity, not a curse. Meet it with eagerness and enthusiasm." Kinji planted his feet and shoved hard. Kitsunebi disengaged and waited for him to refocus his mind on the fight. Even though she was his opponent she was fighting him with the goal of teaching him.

The son of the Kotetsu family immediately took those words to heart. His heart was still trembling but his mind had latched onto the idea. He didn't have to be afraid. Fear was a normal response, a sane response to danger. But that didn't mean he had to let it dominate him. No, he should be excited. He was stepping foot onto unknown territory. Without speaking a single word he went on the offensive. His swordsmanship had always left something to be desired, but he compensated by being more aggressive. Their blades met over and over, showering sparks. With each strike Kinji grew less hesitant, less indecisive. He started to enjoy himself.

**Day 13**

"Well, you can swing a sword properly now. And you're no longer afraid of fighting someone as strong as you are. But how well will your heart hold up in the dark." Blue fire covered Kitsunebi's sword and everything else in the underground chamber went black. Kinji readied himself for what came next. This was the power of Kitsunebi's shikai, to leave opponents in a world devoid of any light but that which she gave them. It was an illusion of sorts, the light still existed but Kitsunebi could maipulate the vision of her targets to a small degree. She could selectively hide thing from their sight or simply take away the sense altogether. But the flames created by the blade were unable to burn any living thing. The flames were very real, they were the key to the illusions she could produce. But for reasons he didn't understand, the flames didn't inflict any direct harm on targets. All they would feel is a warm breeze.

The fox-woman flicked a lash of fire at him which he should have dodged. But because he believed that it couldn't hurt him, he let it splash across his chest. Pain sent him reeling and he slapped at the fire still burning his clothes. He came away with a few first degree burns but little else. If she had been serious, she could have burned the flesh from his bones. _What the hell?_

"You're too confident. Just because I want to teach you doesn't mean your life isn't hanging by a thread." She flash stepped to his right and let loose a genuine blast of flame. He ducked away and circled back around her. When he attacked was when she decided to plunge the world into darkness. His sword burst into blue flame to light up the immediate area and give him a line of sight for his attack. Kitsunebi had vanished.

That day he had learned how to make the flames of his zanpakuto burn a target. But more important was what she told him when the day had ended. She had just finished knocking him through a stone column and had the point of her sword hovering at the base of his throat. Blue flames made his skin feel uncomfortably hot. Then she took the sword away and ended the session. The minimal light to be had in the catacombs returned. Kinji found himself strangely angry at being spared for what was likely the hundredth time. He came to his feet snarling, adrenaline still dimming the pain of his burns. "You read my every move, counter it, beat me into the ground again and again. I'm weaker than you, why don't you just kill me?!". He wasn't thinking clearly, the heat of battle had pushed his mind to the breaking point.

Kitsunebi, looking very noble and serene, gave him a pitying glance. "If you do not understand a person, you cannot crush them. But when you do understand them, you probably won't want to." Then her manifested form dispersed in blue fire and left him to lick his physical and mental wounds.

**Day 25**

The training regimen had changed. The day before he had finally been able to best his teacher. Kitsunebi had yielded the match to him with a satisfied but pained smile. She hadn't said a single word of congratulations, which made Kinji worried. He had hoped his training had ended, that by conquering his zanpakuto he would have conquered himself. But her eyes told him differently. "You have proven yourself potentially capable of bankai, but you do not have the skills to use that power. I will try to teach you, but be warned, your life still depends on your ability to learn what I have to teach." she then proceeded to split herself into three separate bodies and come at him again. He was forced to split his attention between the three, equally powerful opponents. He simultaneously warded the three of them off by zanjutsu, kido, and a number of hakuda techniques that placed him in danger of being impaled if he made even the slightest slip.

He blocked a sword strike coming in above his head with his own blade, hastily conjured a small barrier with his off hand to stop the strike coming in from his left, then spun clockwise to disengage and face the third enemy. As he did the barrier cracked and he suffered a gash across his left palm. But he counted that as a minor trade off when he knocked aside the flaming sword of the Kitsunebi that had tried to stab him in the back. For all his effort and his tenacity, he lasted only 2 minutes against the multiple attackers.

"You are far too sloppy and inelegant in your tactics." the zanpakto chided him. "Don't try fighting all three at once, force us to get in each other's way, use a technique that would disadvantage us simultaneously. Be clever about it." Kinji did his best to take her advice but it was another two days before he was making any kind of real progress.

**Present Day- 28 days into training**

"How long do I have to do this?" Kinji complained.

"Get used to it." Kitsunebi scolded. She had him reading several books, some philosophy, some poetry, and a couple religious texts. "The power of this bankai depends on more than your raw strength. The wisdom you possess, the level of spiritual knowledge, is just as important. Simply put, your inner constitution must exceed your external power."

"What the hell kind of bankai is this?" Kinji muttered to himself as he paged through the texts. He wasn't even sure how Kitsunebi had gotten a hold of some of these. She had the ability to share memories, and clearly some of these were just that. Memories of books he had been forced to study as a child. But some of the others were clearly from the World of the Living. One small volume in particular made this painfully obvious, _The Ballad of the White Horse_. It wasn't even a century old and was translated from a foreign language. The annotations in the margins, explanations of the context of particular phrases, tipped him off to that. But, that being said, some of the texts seemed to tug at his heart and left him feeling more sure, more solidly himself.

"One that places your heart in jeopardy. I can offer you much, but no power comes without a price. This bankai had no weakness but the one who wields it." Kinji jumped at the answer because she had whispered it into his ear even though he had seen her walk in the opposite direction. She grinned at him and patted him on the top of his head like some confused toddler. Anger and frustration surged in Kinji's chest but he forced it back down. He could get angry all he wanted when the month was over. Until then, he would have to put up with the teases and tricks of his zanpakuto, no matter how annoying. Before he could respond to her words, she vanished in flickers of blue fire.

"Why do the women in my life cause me so much trouble?" he wondered. Then he realized that they weren't more trouble than the men, there were just more of them. That idea startled him a little. Whether by chance or by some subconscious design, he had surrounded himself with women after his father's death. Not that he hadn't known any women prior to that life-defining event, but he had barely made any attempt to form friendships with men. The sole exception had been Sosuke Aizen and Kinji let out a bitter laugh at that coincidence. "When this is over I'm going drinking." he decided. He needed a real vacation and time with people he could trust. But that was the crux of the matter. How did he know who he should trust? Memories flitted through his mind without his consent and it was a parade of betrayal and disappointment. His father, the friends he's been forced to kill, Aizen, Lin, Miko. Despite not being the same man who had suffered those things, the pain still clutched at his heart.

He shut his current book a little harder than necessary. He had a mountain of bad memories that tried to bury him every time he got nostalgic. But they could not. No matter how intense the memory, or how vivid the remembrance, there was a kind of disconnect between them and him. Rationally he understood that these things had happened to him but the emotional investment just wasn't there. That didn't make it any less annoying for the prospective Captain, just less detrimental to his actions.

The pile of books formed his bed than night, his head resting on a particularly thick volume for a pillow.

#

During the night Yukine snuck out of the underground fortress and reported back to Haru Kotetsu, just as she had every night for the last month. She met with the diminutive matriarch on the balcony of the master bedroom. It was a cloudy and humid night, the kind of atmosphere one experiences before a storm. Because of this, Haru was on the balcony with a glass of icewater and wearing nothing more than a loose white robe.

"Mistress Kotetsu." Yukine said and bowed low. Haru chugged the glass in her hand and let out a contented sigh.

"Ahhhh! Relax Yukine. Sit down, it's too warm for people to be running around without something cold to drink." Haru passed the woman a glass and pulled her down to eye-level. Despite the disparity in rank, Yukine was Haru's closest friend.

"He's doing well, all things considered. But he doesn't like me being in there with him." Yukine sipped at the cold water, or what he thought was cold water. The fluid was some unholy mixture of mint and grain alcohol and the servant nearly choked on it in her surprise and discomfort.

"Good, right? I admit, my son is considerably better in his craftsmanship, but he never makes anything stronger than grape juice." Yukine gave Haru a weary look, she should have known. The woman had belonged to Division 11 before she was married. For a woman to be in an organization like that she had to out-fight, out-drink, and out-everything most of the Division. She had done that with a smile on her face and spring in her step. Setting aside what was almost certainly 100 proof liquor, Yukine made her request.

"It might be best if I left him alone for the last few days of his training." Haru looked at her friend sharply. There was a moment where all sound drained from the world around them, then Haru broke that silence.

"He's my son." She said. It was a short, simple statement that carried a weight and implication much larger than three small words could adequately express.

"And he's long since become an adult. Building a bond with a zanpakuto is intensely personal. I've known him since he was a child but I've found out things about him that I simply shouldn't know. Things far too personal. If I stay until the end he may flinch away at a critical moment for fear I find out some particular thing. My presence there may get him killed." Haru looked into her empty glass for an answer to that revelation. Finding none she refilled it with the paint thinner she seemed to favor and took a sizable gulp.

"I've lost him so many times. Do you know how many times a messenger from the 1st Division has come to me with an MIA report?" Yukine did, but she didn't bother answering. Haru didn't like being interrupted, especially not if she was drinking. "14 times. I had a funeral for him once, that time he was being treated by some boondocks medic in the outer Rukongai and couldn't report in." Tears appeared in Haru's eyes and the glass began to shake in her hand. Yukine put her hand on Haru's to steady it, offering some small comfort to a mother whose child often took action with little regard for her feelings. Isane, Kiyone, and Jiro had all managed to have lives and careers that put them in relatively little danger. Kinji had thrown himself headlong into lethal situations since before he could legally drink. It was one of the reasons she and Kinji had never really become friends. He tried to do the "right thing" out of some misplaced sense of inadequacy because of what happened to his father and he ended up hurting his mother because of it.

"He will survive." Yukine assured her.

#

Lin Feng was not in a good mood. Not only had she not fully completed her mission, but she had been forced to reveal herself as a traitor far sooner than she had anticipated. Now Sui-Feng would be after her. The thought sent a cold chill down her neck. The thought of Sui-Feng after them was enough to give anyone paranoia, but Lin hadn't just turned traitor. No, in one stroke she managed to undermine Sui-Feng's authority, insult her, make the Feng family question her fitness as family head, and personally taunt her as she ran away. Any one of those things would guarantee a death sentence, all of them meant there was likely to be one hell of a blast radius when the assassin found her.

While she was in this foul mood, Reiko Tenshin confronted her in the hallway of the Tenshin manor. Reiko was taller than Lin and was obviously looking down on her in the metaphorical sense. "What?" Lin grumbled.

"That's a rather uncivilized greeting for someone hiding under the protection of my family. Apologize please." Her musical voice made the request seem almost polite. But Lin knew better. Even among the Tenshin, whose views on nobility were very harsh, Reiko was in a league of her own. Her father was an incredible bigot, even toward mid-ranking nobles, but Reiko was a step above her father. She was much better at hiding it, but she considered anyone not noble born nothing more than dumb beasts. In her eyes anyone who wasn't part of the Big Four was just a slightly more intelligent animal. Lin understood that Reiko viewed her as some kind of semi-useful stray pet they had taken in. But, in point of fact, she was hiding under their protection. She swallowed her pride and bowed to Reiko.

"My apologies, Lady Tenshin." It felt like swallowing a handful of razorblades, but Reiko was necessary for her to survive. At least, for the time being she was necessary.

"Much better." Reiko said mildly. "Do you have any leads on the Stone yet?"

"No, Lady Tenshin. Some of the texts are missing from the Spirit Library and from the records of the Great Houses. All we know is that it is a stone roughly half the size of an eye with reiatsu matching the other two artifacts."

"That is very disappointing. After your failure to recover the Mirror I had expected you to work more diligently to prove yourself to us."

"I got you the Mirror-"

"An artifact missing pieces is not much better than no artifact. We can't even bring it out of dormancy. Do you at least have a plan to retrieve the missing piece?"

"No, Lady Tenshin. Because I was forced to reveal myself I can't leave the manor or I will be captured and interrogated. The same applies to Akamatsu and Takeshi. But we do have a location for the piece."

"A location? Better than nothing but not by much. Where is it?

"Beneath the Kotetsu estate. According to our informant there is a maze of tunnels and the piece is located there. Unfortunately the Kotetsu have a small army protecting their grounds right now."

"They did react rather forcefully to our little ploy. But it won't matter. With one awakened artifact we have the ability to field an army more than equal to the task." Reiko said with an air of indifference. Lin held back a smile. The Sword had been fully awakened and that gave them a decisive edge in any open conflict. The Tenshin, like every noble family, maintained its own militia which it could exercise entirely free from the Constraints of Central 46. With the Sword, they would be able to empower their soldiers. And army of soldiers with the strength of seated officers would be difficult for any of the noble families, or even the Gotei 13 to stand against.

"Will you send a force against the Kotetsu?"

"We hardly have a choice in the matter. One artifact gives us a decisive edge, but until we have all three our plan is vulnerable to clever enemies or incompetent allies." Lin fought to keep her poker face despite the insult. Reiko was a royal bitch, but she was dancing to Lin's tune far too well for the former Feng to even think about killing her. The Kotetsu would be wiped out and they would have access to two of the artifacts. After that they would be able to fracture the Gotei 13 and entice dissidents to their side with promises of power. Even Yamamoto wouldn't be able to bring them down when that happened. Then Lin would dispose of the Tenshin as soon as she was sure they were no longer needed. But the trick was to make sure she was needed by the Tenshin, a trick becoming increasingly difficult to pull off.

"I can put together a battle plan, the information we received was extremely detailed."

"You do that. But do it soon, we strike in two days." Reiko walked past her without so much as a "see you later". Lin thought a dagger in the back of her neck would match her jewelry nicely. Then she forced herself to relax. She had work to do and being angry or frustrated would make it take all night.

#

"Ease up a little. You need to maintain a calm mindset." Kitsunebi coached him. Kinji was trying to maintain several perfect spheres of blue fire in the air in front of his eyes. Sweat was dripping down his face. She had started him with one but in less than two days he had progressed to four. But that seemed to be his limit for the time being.

Normally something like that was a pathetically easy task. The fire was formed of his reiatsu and under his absolute control. But Kitsunebi was applying pressure to them, simulating the metal strain of the bankai he had gained rights to. But she was cautious about how much power she gave him. Too much power at once would drown his mind and his power would simply go wild.

"You say that like its easy." Kinji gritted through his teeth. His eyes didn't even twitch away from the four orbs of fire. He was struggling hard just to maintain them. If he looked away they would collapse. Once he'd gotten the hand of the trick, the first three had been easy. But splitting his attention four ways was just one too many. Frustration and weariness fought for first place in his mind.

"It will get easier. The mind is adaptive and flexible. It will respond to the challenge by making itself stronger than it is now. That change is typically uncomfortable and unpleasant but typically worth it. Simply put, no pain no gain." the zanpakuto said with an almost aggravating amount of cheer. Kinji's nerves were in tatters by this point. Kitsunebi had put him through a meatgrinder of a month and he was ready to go off on somebody. The physical injuries, the mental strain, and the aggravation of being isolated had all built to a head.

"Gonna kick your ass." He said through a locked jaw. His face was flushed with anger and tension. The four sphere's began to flicker and bulge. Kinji brought them back under control through stubbornness alone.

"Relax into it. A calm mind is stronger than one full of anger."

"Not in my experience." Kinji said angily. The most awesome displays of power he'd ever seen had been performed by those in the grip of terrible rage.

"A man who rules himself is greater than a man who rules others. You mistake destruction as a measure for power. Creation is far more difficult." Another platitude. Her master was unappreciative of it at that moment and his concentration broke. Four concussive blasts deafened both of them and made them temporarily blind.

"Enough already! I'm almost out of time. The exam date is tomorrow so lets just get it over with." Kinji stretched out his neck to loosen the muscles he had strained in the previous exercise.

"You really think you're ready?" Kitsunebi cautioned.

"Probably not, but we're out of time." Kinji pressed. It was true, more or less. Sure it wasn't the end of the world if he didn't become a Captain right away, but the power and authority would become necessary if he wanted to put his plan into motion. He had been playing defense with his enemies for a long time and he had nearly lost everything because of that stance. It was time for him to start moving pieces on the board.

"Master, if this is really what you wish I will oblige." Kitsunebi bowed her head. Then she was surrounded by blue flame and smoke. Kinji took a few steps back out of uncertainty. But when the fires grew and expanded he was forced to leap backwards. Had he been any slower, his clothes would have caught fire. Then his instincts screamed at him to move quickly. He dove to the side just before the section of floor he had been standing on seemed to explode. Kinji squinted at it in surprise but caught a shimmer of heat that shouldn't have been there. A shimmer that seemed to retreat back toward the flames. Then the flame and smoke cleared, revealing a sight that made his heart drop. Despite his seeming humility in saying he wasn't ready, he had honestly believed he could handle anything Kitsunebi wanted to throw at him. That illusion of superiority had been brutally torn away by what he saw.

"I think I may have been a little hasty." He muttered under his breath.

#

Day 30

"Lady Kotetsu! We're under attack!" The messenger hadn't bothered with the decorum of kneeling in front of the screened doorway. It was still very early in the morning, the stars had disappeared but the sun had yet to rise. But Haru Kotetsu had only slept a few hours in the past two days, worrying over her son. She'd started arming and dressing herself the moment she'd heard the commotion.

"By who?" she asked the messenger. While he was giving the report she went to her closet and retrieved her zanpakuto. The handle wrapped in black leather felt comforting in her hand and she drew the blade. Bright curving steel reflected the warm orange light of the oil lamps in her room.

"Unknown. They are all wearing masks and concealing cloaks. But they are far too strong to be anything but officers of the Gotei 13." Haru rejected the notion immediately. It was absurd. The Gotei 13 would never move against them.

"Muster the guard as best you can. Arm everyone. If these soldiers are as strong as you say then this will be a struggle for survival."

"Should I send word to the other family members?"

"No, if we fall then Isane and Kiyone are safer where they are. With them alive the Kotetsu family will survive. But please send word to Yamamoto that there are unknown enemies attacking us. He may be invested enough in my son's promotion that he will send assistance." She slid the door open and she was wearing her old robes from her days in the Gotei 13. Her attire somewhat resembled Kiyone's, with a pair of white gloves and a white collared shirt underneath he shihakusho. But she also wore her hair tied back and a pair of leather bracers adorned her forearms, here shihakusho sleeves had been hacked away close to her shoulders. "I'm going to see if they're tough enough to face an angry housewife." Haru said in a voice that brooked no dissent. The messenger just stared at her, mouth hanging open, and watched her jump from the balcony onto the roof of the outer walls. Dozens of enemies were there, slaughtering their way through the Kotetsu family guards. The intruding force had started out with roughly half the personnel of the guard, but in a few short minutes they had evened the numbers.

The scales tipped the other way as soon as Haru Kotetsu landed on the bloodstained grass. She cut down two assailants in a single sword stroke and forced a third to retreat out of sword range. The guards rallied around her and she lead the next charge. The fight kindled old memories in her, charging an army of hollows with her men at her back, the subtle weight of a wooden badge strapped to her arm. It was just like the old days. Only, back then she could trust the soul reapers she commanded to handle themselves in real battle. Her guards were trained but not battle tested. She knew that many of them would die before the sun rose, but there was nothing she could do for them. What she could do was kill the bastards who had brought death to her door. "Maul, Tanzo-fu" her sword was hidden by swirling wind that knocked back the nearest of the masked men. When the small tornado dissipated Haru was wielding a spiked iron kanabo as tall as she was. She took a firm grip on her shikai and swung. The wind from the weapon spun and shrieked, blasting the soldiers at the front lines into the men behind them. The fury of her attack briefly stalled the assault, the invaders reevaluating the pros and cons of direct combat.

"All you big strong men. Too scared to fight one little woman? Your mothers should be ashamed." Haru taunted. Angry looks came at her from the entire opposing force. Several insults were screamed from somewhere back in the ranks. But no one wanted to be first and get crushed to death by that vicious looking weapon. Almost a full minute passed in silence. Neither of the forces made a forward move. Then the commander of the invasion force shoved his way to the head of his little army. He stood at least a head taller than Haru and his shaggy black hair came down to his shoulders when he removed his mask. A pair of sunglasses in the shape of a visor covered his eyes.

"One little woman who used to be the Lieutenant of Division 11. You can understand their hesitation."

"Are you the big man who's going to beat up a little old houswife?" Haru said with a condescending smile. She looked down her nose at him, an impressive trick given how much taller he was. The man's square jaw bulged as his teeth ground together. Her taunts were clearly hitting a nerve.

"I'm the man who will kill the Oni of the Wind." he said, using the nickname she had won for herself during her combat days. Her Captain, Kenpachi Kiganjo, had been the Oni of Earth and the 3rd and 4th Seat officers had been Water and Fire. "Then the last of the Rajomon will be erased from Soul Society. I want you all to stay back." the man yelled to his troops. "This won't take too long." he yanked his zanpakuto from his sheath and yelled "Bend, Onikoroshi Shakujo." the zanpakuto glowed white and became a wooden staff topped by a silver metal circle. Six rings jangled when he moved the staff, bouncing around the larger metal hoop.

Haru recognized the weapon from reports she had bribed the records department to get. From the murder reports of her friends, Mikaro and Shiro, Water and Fire. They had died over 150 years ago, both murdered by a masked man wielding a shakujo like the one she saw now. As a matter of fact, it was identical to the one she saw now, based on eyewitness accounts. A dangerous light came into her eyes when she saw that weapon. "What's your name?" she asked slowly.

"I'm sorry, Lady Kotetsu," he said with derision, "but I'm under orders not to reveal my identity or that of my employers. Even removing my mask was treading close to that line. But I wanted you to see the smile on my face when a hack your limbs off." He charged her, flash stepping behind her just before he was in her strike range. He lashed out with the sharpened metal circle on the end of his staff, looking to hamstring her. She didn't dodge, didn't move any part of herself but her right leg. Her foot connected with the wood of the staff just behind the blade-like circle. In a swift motion she hooked her foot in the ring and leaned heavily forward, stomping the head of the weapon into the earth. The enemy commander was stunned by the maneuver. He had killed the other two club wielding soul reapers with relative ease. They had counted on their brute strength to carry them through their battles. Apparently they were a cut below the woman who had just defended herself.

"Why did you stop moving?" Haru's voice was harsh and choked with anger. She looked over her shoulder at the dark-haired man and her eye pinned him to the spot. The raw hatred in her eyes was only a short step from insanity. "Keep your guard up. Don't stop, not even for a moment. Attack me in every way you know how." She swept her club around to strike the head of the staff, sliding her foot from the ring on her pivot. The impact knocked the staff out high giving the veteran woman a perfect opening. Haru just stood there, not even advancing to force him off balance. "I don't want you to have a single reservation in your mind when I kill you. I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that there was no way for you to survive once you showed me that weapon. Now come at me, weakling." She raised her heavy weapon with one hand and began to whirl it overhead. The man's eyes widened at the display of skill and strength. He found himself instinctively retreating a step when she advanced. Then he caught himself and shook off the fear. She was a century and a half out of practice. He had killed the other two Oni in their prime. That maneuver had been a fluke and nothing more.

"You'll regret passing on that opening." he promised. He readied his staff for his next attack. He should have been preparing his defense.

"Gou no Kaze!" she whipped the whirling club out at her opponent and a solid blast of wind stripped the grass and top layer of soil in a four foot wide swath between Haru and the man she hated. But what the blast did to the ground was just collateral damage. The focused maelstrom hit the dark-haired man full in the chest. It ripped his staff out of his hands, shredded the cloth on his torso, and blasted him over the Kotetsu guards and through the three foot thick stone wall that surrounded the mansion. "Oh, where are you going?" Haru said with a detached calm that was anything but genuine. Then she started walking toward the hole she had made in the outer wall. "There's a lot more pain for you to endure before you leave this life." The guards gave a lot of room. The invading force just stood there stunned by the whole thing. The commander of the invasion force was far and away their strongest member. If she could crush him like that, what hope did any of them actually have?

"Not done just yet." The man's visor shades had been obliterated by the blast of wind revealing a pair of golden eyes. The man was a Shihouin! Haru's shock broke through the tide of white-hot rage. What the hell was going on? But the train of though was quickly drowned by Haru's need for vengeance. He picked up the staff from where it had fallen. Golden light began to shine from the head of the staff, building in intensity until it was blinding to look at. "Bankai!"


	11. Blood and Blunders

**A/N: I'd like to apologize if the end of this chapter is a little too gruesome for some of you, I happened to be watching Deathproof while I finished writing which probably had something to do with the graphic fight scene. Other than that, next chapter we'll see some characters who are canonically deceased but were killed off screen. Plus they didn't really get the screen time I thought they deserved. Well, as always I appreciate reviews. **

Chapter 11

**Kotetsu Manor**

Impossible wasn't a word Kinji Kotetsu used very often. After what he'd been through he'd become skeptical of skepticism. He'd embraced a view of the world much larger than most people. What did the bard say? "More thing in Heaven and Earth" etc. But impossible was the only word that sprang to mind when he tried to think of a way to beat Kitsunebi. She had transformed herself into some kind of lupine half-form with nine massive tails coated in white fur. That fur was as hard as steel and could gather together in murderously sharp points. He could barely defend himself let alone go on the attack. And any time he moved out of the considerable reach of the lashing tails the beast would blast him with blue fire. His robe had been burned away above his waist and the ends of his hair were charred and blackened. The smell of it warred with the incense-like scent the flames produced on their own.

He used the battle scarred zanpakuto in his hand to parry another of the needle covered tails and he could tell the blade was close to snapping. He couldn't keep using it to parry or he would be left without any means of defense. He'd tried using his shikai ability to drop the beast into darkness and give him a little breathing room. But her fire could light up the room despite his ability. He didn't really have enough time for a kido incantation so his options there were limited. Unless the kido was exceptionally powerful it wouldn't eve affect the being trying to kill him.

"How the hell am I supposed to beat you?" Kinji yelled in frustration. He received a snarl and renewed attack in answer. One tail caught his left arm and shredded the skin. The pain was more than just intense, it was constant. Those tails were a nightmare weapon that shaved away flesh or steel with equal disdain. He flash stepped behind a pillar and used kido to bind the injury. He wouldn't be able to focus when exposed muscle was causing him constant pain. The bandage cinched tight and he grunted in pain. Then the stone pillar he was hiding behind exploded under the onslaught of those metal covered tails. Several bright lines of blood showed on Kinji's exposed back.

"Screw it! Hado 59: Reito Kyuryu!" A spiraling torrent of water and ice discharged from Kinji's injured hand and collided with Kitsunebi. Four of the tails swept aside the kido with a hiss of steam. Kinji knew a hado of that level wouldn't hurt something as powerful as Kitsunebi, but it did block her vision for a few precious seconds. The 8 foot tall were-fox experienced a brief moment of confusion before being crushed flat into the ground. Kinji's good arm hit the back of the creature's neck with stone-shattering force. He'd jumped straight up to the cavern ceiling then kicked off toward the floor with increased speed. It was a good move, but the blow wasn't enough to finish the fight. Three tails slammed into him from various angles and knocked him through a cracked stone pillar more than 50 feet away. Several hundred pounds of broken column buried him. "Anyone get the number of that freight train?" He croaked out in irritated sarcasm. He pushed himself clear of the rock pile, keeping one eye on his opponent. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes of dust. His slightly concussed brain told him his vision was impaired because the nine-tailed abomination in front of him only had seven tails. The slight shimmer in the air tipped Kinji off as to what had happened but he didn't move quick enough. That was the power that made the match-up so unfair. Kinji was fast and skilled enough to avoid an opponent using multiple weapons, but if those weapons could become the next best thing to invisible he wouldn't stand much of a chance. The tails weren't entirely invisible, more like transparent. But even with the slight distortion they caused when looking through them, he couldn't tell where they were until they were within a couple feet.

The tails weren't covered in spikes when they wrapped around his waist and neck but Kinji was only mildly thankful for that. Decapitation was a faster way to go than strangulation. He redrew his zanpakuto only to have a third tail wrap itself around his wrist and twist. His grip went slack and the sword hit the stone with a dull clatter. A pulsing pressure built in behind his eyes as the powerful appendage squeezed tighter around his throat. He had a few seconds left before he would pass out. Maybe 30 seconds before the lack of air killed him. The tails brought him close to the creature's main body and he could feel the thing's breath hitting his face. It planned to take a bite out of him! The vertical slits in the creature's eyes made it look absolutely feral. If his zanpakuto was in there somewhere, she sure as hell wasn't running this show. He used the last bit of air in his lungs to choke out a spell. "Bakudo 75: Gochutekkan." Without the incantation the spell only had about half its usual power but the five iron pillars still crashed down onto his opponent with a good deal of force. The tails flung him aside when the beast's head hit the stone floor. He heard his left shoulder separate but for the moment he couldn't feel it. The binding spell was already shaking unsteadily when he managed to drag himself to his feet. "Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing iron-clad fireflies-" he recited the incantation to strengthen his binding and the new weight cracked the stone under the strange creature.

It was a solid spell meant to immobilize all four limbs as well as the body as a whole. Breaking free took an enormous amount of power. But those damnable tails were scraping and gouging pieces out of his spell even as he tried to reinforce it. He had bought himself maybe 20 seconds to get his head back on straight. A feral scream rattled the smaller bits of debris in the cave and deafened the sitting soul reaper. The creature screamed louder and louder until the iron pillars themselves began to crack and fall. _More like 10 seconds,_ Kinji corrected himself. But it was enough for him to get his mind and body back in some semblance of working order. He was down an arm and he had retrieved his sword, damaged though it was. His legs worked fine and binding spells were at least somewhat effective.

"What the hell Kitsunebi? After all the lecturing about keeping my calm you turn into this? Hypocrisy doesn't suit you." He wasn't sure if the strangulation had been what cleared his head or if it was the shock, but he felt detached from the situation. He could see exactly how to end things and what it would cost. If he had been holding onto the fear and anger from before he never would have seen it. He should have understood the answer immediately. He had to admit, in a contest of pure strength he had no chance at all. A clear head allowed success where brute force wouldn't. But that didn't mean brute force didn't have its place.

He watched the nine tails sway menacingly in front of him, waiting for him to get closer. The bestial visage sneered at him from behind those deadly limbs. Kitsunebi, or what she had become, had barely exerted herself and had maybe one bruise to show from the entire fight. _This is it,_Kinji told himself, _one last chance_. He readied his zanpakuto and started muttering the chant to a kido he barely remembered. Kitsunebi's combat ability rested on two important factors. First was the ability to see her target. Even with nine opportunities to attack, without sight to guide her Kitsunebi's chances to kill him were low. But the second was far more important. The tails had to come from behind her back to strike at him, meaning that there was a small safe area inside her range of attack approximately two feet in front of her. If he could reach that spot with enough strength for one solid strike he would walk away with his bankai, and more importantly, his life. "Bakudo 21: Sekienton!" He forced more power into the spell than it was designed to use. A billowing red smoke filled the immediate area and left both combatants blind. Kinji had seen enough of how this creature fought to predict its next move. He ducked low to avoid the attacks that would have torn off his arms and head. Then he charged forward, not using flash step because he wasn't sure if another forward attack was coming or not. If he moved too fast then a tail would get in his way and bisect him. His feet touched only lightly on the stone because of the speed he was moving at. His almost psychotic calm had begun to fracture under the onslaught of his fast-beating heart. But he only had to hold it together for a few more seconds. Then it would all be over, one way or another.

The red smoke had sent the beastly zanpakuto into a frenzy of wild attacks. The first three were an instinctive attack on where Kinji had been standing. After they missed the beast assumed he must have dodged to the sides. When the subsequent attacks hit nothing it covered them in blue flame and sent it out like a shockwave. The blue fire cleared away the smoke but it wasn't potent ennough to harm the man who had come within 8 feet of the were-fox. In an enraged panic the tails all came whipping back toward the main body. They moved exceptionally fast but Kinji was already in motion and the tails had to bend in an awkward angle to try meeting his rush. Kinji's sword thrust was aimed at the thing's lupine head and carried enough force to slice straight through its skull.

In that brief moment of seeming triumph Kinji let himself believe he would win the exchange without taking any more damage. Later he would scold himself for forgetting the lesson that stood at the core of his being. If you wanted change to happen, real change, someone had to bleed. And more often than not Kinji was the one who did the bleeding.

One of the tails had proven swifter than the others and had buried itself in Kinji's back and emerging from his stomach. But for what he had gained he counted the gaping hole in his torso as a minimal cost. The chipped and cracked blade of his zanpakuto had sunken deep into the right eyesocket of the fox-spirit. Once again the creature was engulfed in blue fire but it didn't just vanish in a puff of smoke. The creature's body blackened and turned to ash which wrapped itself around Kinji's bloodstained torso. He would have screamed in shock of he had the breath in his lungs. In mere seconds the would-be Captain was engulfed in burning ash. He felt a sudden rush of relief as the pains of his injuries disappeared and a strange warmth gathered against his lower back. When the ash finally fell away from his eyes he saw Kitsunebi, as he had come to know her, standing a few feet in front of him with a proud smile on her face. "I knew you could do it, Master."

Kinji examined himself and was surprised to find the most serious of his wounds had been repaired. He rolled his arm experimentally and found it sore, but ultimately useable. His hand brushed something soft just behind his back and he turned around. His surprise was evident on his face when he saw the white-furred tails of the creature he had killed attached to his back. He thought about moving them and they danced to his thoughts. He thought about the way the fur had stiffened into spikes with an iron hardness and they obeyed. "This is my bankai?"

"Yes. This is the most rudimentary form of my fully released state, Myobu Kitsunebi. It is a unique bankai that merges your zanpakuto with your very flesh."

"There's only four tails." Kinji commented. He realized that the offensive and defensive capabilities of this form was dependent on the number of tails and was surprised that he had less than half of the number of tails that the creature had possessed.

"As I said, this is the most rudimentary form. As you grow in strength and wisdom so too will this form grow. Now, let me show you how it works."

* * *

Haru Kotetsu was a veteran. She had seen centuries of battle and survived with hardly a scar to show for it. After her retirement she had know deeper sorrows than pains of battle. She knew the sorrow of a widow, the grief of a mother who believed her child dead, and the hollowness accompanying deaths of old friends. She had come through it all like a piece of fine steel, beaten into a deadly sharpness by the pressures and heat of a harsh life. That strength of character was reflected in the durability of her zanpakuto. It showed a few gouges and many scratches but absolutely refused to break.

The disgraced Shihouin marveled at her weapon's ability to defend her from his attacks. It was a credit to her spirit and level of skill that she had stood against him for so long already. His bankai, Onikoroshi Avalokitesvara, had struck at her hundreds of times. Her blood stained several patches of ground on the now bare earth outside Kotetsu manor. The sixteen weapons grasped in the arms of his bankai also dripped with Haru's blood, but only three of them. The metal arms, sprouting from his sides like those of a buddha statue, could all attack at the same time. So how had she come away with so few injurues? The noblewoman's wind manipulation and superior battle experience had allowed her to repel most of his strikes before they even came near her.

"I have to admit, you are very skilled, Oni of the Wind. But time is running short. I'll have to end my enjoyment now so we can retrieve what we came here for." He advanced with a smile. "If it's any consolation, you would have killed me if the Master hadn't given me this bankai."

"Not done yet." she panted in a deliberate parody of his earlier statement. She pulled herself upright and lifted the heavy club with aching arms. Her body had nearly reached its limits, which made her kick herself for not maintaining herself better in the past two centuries. In the old days she could have fought continuously for hours. Now, after less than 30 minutes of active battle she was worn out. "I have a few more tricks up my..." she looked to her shredded shihakusho which now lacked sleeves, "well I still have some tricks." Haru held the blunt weapon horizontally and pulled in the last dregs of her power. A light red aura gathered around the weapon and began to rotate. It picked up speed and began pulling air in around it. Haru's flash step put her on her opponent's left and the club came crashing in with bone crushing force. Eight arms blocked with their weapons but couldn't hold against the hurricane force winds spiraling around the kanabo. The spiral force twisted the arms at odd angles and jammed the joints so the Shihouin took the strike on his side which was covered by a silvery plating where the arms were attached. The strike made a sound similar top a gong and threw the man back into the ranks of his troops.

Haru dropped to her knees from exhaustion. She'd pushed herself too hard too fast. "Well, I guess I'll try the other tricks...some other time." Her vision went black for a moment but she pushed past it and stayed conscious. The Shihouin tossed several of his troupe out of the way once he was back to his feet and came at Haru with a snarl. "Yukine. You can help now." Haru said dully. The thrust of several weapons was halted by what appeared to be a massive shield. Spears and knives held in mechanical looking hands were halted by, as absurd as it might seem, an 8 foot high metal fan. Crouched on top of that fan was Yukine, Haru's servant and personal bodyguard. She'd been chosen for that position because even as a child she boasted high levels of spiritual energy. And in the past 250 years her power had done nothing but grow. She wasn't as strong as someone like Haru who had held the rank of Lieutentant in a Division that specialized in close combat, but she was more than competent.

"Lady Haru, are you alright?" she asked from on top of her weapon.

"Just feeling my age." Haru said in between gasps for air.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" the leader of the strike team screamed to his subordinates. His one on one match was over as far as he was concerned. The woman had called in back-up and lost by default. He didn't have to kill her himself anymore. He had the victory he wanted. The invasion force released their zanpakuto with dozens of shouts. The Kotetsu line crowded more tightly around Haru and Yukine as the latter's weapon shrank back to a normal size. The Shihouin immediately went on the attack but was blocked by the blue-garbed guards. Yukine pulled a compliant Haru further back into the compound and behind her guards.

"I didn't expect him to have a bankai." Haru admitted. "If I knew, I would have killed him before he had a chance to use it." she said bitterly.

"As soon as the medics replenish your strength you'll have another chance." Yukine consoled her. She covered Haru's head and neck protectively with her fan-like zanpakuto when the wall exploded inward and showered everyone with rock and wood splinters.

"I'll only need one shot." Haru promised. "Just one." Yukine called for the medics as soon as they were in the main hall. Two men in white Division 4 coats immediately started replenishing her reiatsu and bandaging her wounds. Yukine hovered for a while until Haru ordered her to go help the guard. Then she reconsidered and changed her orders. "Go find Jiro! See if you can get him safely away from here. If you can't then take him down to the Forest. The three of you will be safe there long enough for the Gotei 13 to retake the compound." Yukine hesitated for a moment but bowed her head in obedience.

"Yes, Lady Kotetsu." then she was charging through the halls of the massive house toward Jiro's private quarters.

* * *

**Division 4 hospital**

"Captain Abarai, I told you the symptoms will pass in another day or two." Retsu Unohana said placatingly. Renji had come to see her every morning for the last month, almost immediately after breakfast. The Captain had been experiencing a strange variety of symptoms every day for the past month. First it was a swollen tongue, then gastrointestinal distress, then a chronic sneeze, then narcolepsy. It was almost as if someone had been drugging him and changing poisons on a daily basis. After a month of these strange illnesses Renji's temper had been growing steadily worse.

"Captian Unohana, I can't take it anymore! It feels like my skin is on fire day and night. I haven't slept in two days." The gracious looking Captain of Division 4 nodded in sympathy. Renji's skin had turned nearly as red as his hair from some kind of unique allergic reaction. The irritation was somehow limited to only his skin and she didn't know of any substance that would cause such a reaction. Without knowing that she was helpless to treat the root cause. But she did know a simple and effective way to treat the symptom.

"Isane, could you prepare a set of chilled bedding for Captian Abarai? I'm placing him on temporary medical leave for the next 8 hours." The silver haired medic nodded and took Renji to one of the empty private rooms in the barracks.

"You have no idea how badly I need sleep right now." Renji whined.

"I only sleep about three hours every night. I know how you feel." Isane said politely.

"Is that because of work?" he asked.

"Not really." she said, surprised Renji has asked her something personal.

"Then why?" he pressed. It was simply beyond him why someone would get so little sleep if they didn't have to.

"Have you ever heard the saying "sleep well, grow well"?" Renji shook his head. Then, through the haze of constant discomfort he realized what she was talking about. She was depriving herself of sleep so she wouldn't get any taller.

"Is this about your height?"

"N-no." she said unconvincingly. Renji was suddenly flashing back to all the Lieutenant meetings where Isane had complained about the troubled she experienced because of her unusual stature on a fairly regular basis. Anytime anyone said anything about her height it would send her into a devolving spiral of self-doubt and indecision.

"You know I'm taller than you." he said with some irritation.

"Yeah, but you're a guy. Most girls like a tall guy but guys don't like tall girls." she said gloomily.

"Are you kidding? If this is about guys not beating down your door then just walk around in that swimsuit you wore when we went to the beach." Isane blushed a deep red at the suggestion. She remembered that swimsuit because it was sometimes featured in her nightmares. By the end of that trip to the beach she was sure her face would be permanently red from the embarrassment.

"W-why would I do something like that?" Isane said defensively.

"Hey, just sayin'. Even if a guy didn't like tall women, the sight of you in that swimsuit would make any guy overlook something like height." Isane wanted to bury her face in her hands. But when duty called there simply wasn't room for personal discomfort. She straightened herself and took a calming breath. "We should go to the beach again. Without the demon watermelons this time."

"Nanao and I are just lucky Rangiku forgot her camera." Isane agreed, recalling the watermelons putting her in a …...compromising situation. She shook the thought away and brought Renji to his room. Isane drew her zanpakuto and released it. "Run, Itegumo." Two additional shorter blades appeared just above the tsuba. She dragged the sword lightly along the futon, creating a layer of hoarfrost as the material was cooled to below freezing temperatures. Then she repeated the process with a heavy blanket and motioned for Renji to lay down. He was about to do so when an alert siren sounded. Both officers snapped their heads toward the sound. "What's going on?" Isane demanded of one of her subordinates as a handful ran by the open doorway.

"No idea. Captain Unohana just told us to get the surgical rooms preped for incoming wounded." the Division member said before hurrying off.

* * *

**Kotetsu Manor**

Haru was proving why her nickname was Oni. She had killed a dozen enemies on her way to the Shihouin with the strange bankai. Her zanpakuto was howling in glee at the intensity of the battle after being left to gather dust for so long. Small tornadoes devastated the battlefield with every swing of the iron club. But for all her effort she was only one small part of the chaos and havoc that had demolished half of the Kotetsu compound. Wind, fire, water, and metal projectiles had scoured the ground clean of vegetation, wiped the outer walls out of existence, and collapsed the main hall of the manor. Broken wood and pieces of shattered stone were scattered thousands of feet around the building. The entire guard force of the Kotetsu Manor had either been killed or fled from the battlefield. Now it was just Haru, a handful of attendants, and several members of the branch families, specifically Kyoraku and Kira, against more than 50 officer-class assailants. Predictably, only Haru was still resisting the anonymous army when the small team sent by Yamamoto arrived.

Byakuya Kuchiki and two dozen members of Division 6 brought down a dozen of the enemy soldiers in the first few moments. Their leader had assured them that the Gotei 13 would not interfere so when soul reapers descended upon them they were completely unprepared. The Shihouin took one look at Byakuya's haori and screamed "Into the manor. Into the catacombs!"

A real Captain was too much for him and he knew it. But he didn't have to beat the Captain, he didn't even have to fight him. His men had uncovered the entrance to the Stone Forest and his objective was there. He just had to kill the man training there and bring the corpse back to his masters. He returned his bankai to its sealed state and ran to the entrance at speed, thirty men in tow.

"Lady Kotetsu." Byakuya said, extending a hand to the exhausted noblewoman.

"In the mansion...my son...the guests-" she panted.

"I understand." he replied before vanishing with a whisper of sound. Byakuya's flash step brought him through the gaping hole in the side of the building and he began searching the building. Upon finding guests he sent them out to where his Division members were guarding Haru. But when he went to find Jiro, he only found the dead body of a woman, an attendant according to her attire. Yukine, a fighter with the capacity to serve as a 3rd seat in the Gotei 13, had been bifurcated just above her stomach. Byakuya had seen bodies cleaved in two before, he had in fact been the cause of such wounds on certiain occasions. But this was something outside his experience. There was a six inch wide section of her abdomen simply missing. It hadn't been shredded or burned away, it was simply absent. The area missing corresponded to the line of a standard sword cut. The zanpakuto in the woman's hand had been cut in two as well, probably trying to block the attack that killed her.

The Captain hadn't encountered an ability like this one before, but the mystery wouldn't deter him from his most immediate goals. He left the body where it was and swept the mansion for other nobles. He checked every room and closet but came up empty. There was no one else in the building. He flash stepped back to Haru. "There is no one left in the manor. Did you have your sons sent away during the attack?" Haru's sweat slicked face held a measure of relief. She believed that Yukine had escaped with Jiro.

"I sent my attendant to take Jiro to safety. I guess she managed to make it out in time." Byakuya paused for a moment, not certain if he should mention the corpse he had found. After all, he and his men hadn't come here as a rescue mission at all. Yamamoto had sent them for an entirely different purpose. But he didn't think it right to withhold important information from Haru either.

"Your attendant is a woman bearing a zanpakuto?" Byakuya asked. Haru nodded with an exhausted wariness. "She's dead. And there is no sign of Jiro Kotetsu." his blunt declaration of the tragedy earned him a blank stare. Haru had heard every word with perfect clarity but it was as if Byakuya had spoken in a foreign language. The sounds he made were familiar to her but she simply couldn't accept the meaning those words conveyed. "Where is Kinji Kotetsu?" the nobleman asked callously. Haru pointed at the opening in the ground that lead into the Stone Forest automatically. Byakuya took half of his troops and headed down into the darkness, leaving Haru to overcome her shock and accept the reality of her son's disappearance and probable kidnapping.

* * *

**The Stone Forest**

Now dressed in a set of spare robes, Kinji prepared to exit the cavern that had served as his training ground for the past month. Kitsunebi had cut his hair shorter to remove the blackened patches giving him a head of somewhat messy silver hair about 3 inches long. He walked toward the entrance with calm, satisfied steps. He had achieved his goals and was ending his self-imposed exile. He didn't think anything could wreck the good mood he was in. But that pattering sound of dozens of sandals hitting stone gave him pause. With the way sound echoed in the cavern he knew the people coming toward him were a long way off yet. He couldn't think of any reason there would be a large group coming into the Stone Forest, other than war breaking out. He discounted that possibility because there was no reason for anyone to go to war with the Kotetsu. _Be careful of the unexpected_ Kitsunebi cautioned him.

He moved into one of the smaller side passages and drew his sword. "Spark, Kitsunebi." there was a dull flicker of blue fire over the steel of his blade and he flicked the blue flame toward the larger cavern. The semi-transparent flame coalesced into a small ball and moved into the center of the room adding a more little illumination to the area as it floated toward the ceiling. Kinji waited for the group with shallow breaths for nearly two minutes before the masked men came running into Kinji's training room. They were lead by a tall man with golden eyes, a man with considerable power but who was unknown to Kinji.

"Where is that silver-haired bastard?" the leader demanded of the man to his right.

"He should be here, sir. Our informant was very specific about the directions to this place."

"Then maybe you could tell me where the hell-" the man stopped and looked up. He saw the ball of fire hovering halfway between the ceiling and floor and smiled. Using a fire kido to light a room required the caster to be nearby. His pause caused his men to look up at the ball as well. "Spread out and search. He'll be close. If you have a chance to kill him, do it."

Even though the ball of fire had given away his position, Kinji didn't consider it a tactical mistake. Seeing the light from the blue fire was the condition to activate Kitsunebi's powers of illusion. Unlike the more powerful illusionary zanpakuto which could manipulate multiple senses and even cause damage to the body by tricking the mind, Kinji only had dominion over the sense of sight. And even then he could only manipulate how light or dark an area was. Even further limiting the utility of this illusion was the fact that he himself was subject to the illusions he created. If he wished for an enemy to be plunged into darkness then the area around the target would be completely black, even looking in from the outside. But still, if one knew how to use this skill right it constituted a powerful advantage.

But before Kinji could do anything, Byakuya Kuchiki appeared at the entrance to the cavern backed by at least 10 soldiers.

"Dammit!" The golden-eyed man cursed. He pulled something white from inside his jacket. "Get them!" he screamed at his men. He immediately started chanting the incantation that would jump him out of that cavern and back to safety. Though, considering he'd be going back as a failure, safety probably wasn't the proper word. Two dozen men with power to rival an officer of the Gotei 13 only bought him 5 seconds. Just enough time for Byakuya Kuchiki to release his zanpakuto.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." The steel blade seemed to simply fall apart into shinning pink flower petals and drift lazily toward the crowd of masked men. Blood from a thousand cuts splattered everything between the two groups as the men who charged were slashed at from every angle. The ten who had charged Byakuya's group looked like someone had thrown them into a giant garbage disposal. Thin but deep cuts covered them from head to toe and they collapsed into a pool of their own blood. The rest of the invading army retreated to what they thought was a safe distance. The next swing of the Captain's sword arm proved their precautions useless. Even the Shihouin caught one of the deadly sakura petals across the face just before his spell activated. The pink blade cut him from his upper lip to his right eyebrow and his scream nearly interrupted the spell, but a fraction of a second later white cloth spiraled around him and the remains of his soldiers.

After the immediate threat vanished, Kinji stepped out of the side passage and waved to Byakuya. "Captain Kuchiki, good to see you. Any idea what the h-" Captain Kuchiki flash stepped to where Kinji stood and had his sword at Kinji's throat.

"Kinji Kotetsu, you are under arrest for high treason and the murder of 15 ranking officers of the Gotei 13." There were any number of appropriate responses to such an event. Going along with it sat at the top of the pile. Blankly asking why was a close second. Any route of action that involved compliance would have been fine. But Kinji didn't take any of those routes. No, being confronted by Byakuya, threatened at sword point, and placed under arrest for something he couldn't possibly have done hit just about every button he had.

"You can all go f-"And all hell broke loose.


	12. Recruits and Resignations

**A/N: Ok, so I have to admit to screwing up a bit. When I first posted Chapter 3 I left out about 2000 words right at the beginning. It was kind of a big thing so if you want I have reposted Chapter 3 with the material I forgot. Additionally, this update is a little shorter than usual and the next one will probably be about the same. Life has gotten a little hectic which leaves less time for writing. But hopefully the material doesn't disappoint. One last thing, any relationship scenes are taking a back seat for this chapter but will be more thoroughly explored next chapter. And a certain orange-haired soul reaper will be making his first appearance.**

Chapter 12

**Underground Assembly Hall- 2 days after Destruction of Kotetsu Manor**

"This is absurd. There is video footage of him committing these crimes! How can you possibly believe he is innocent?" One of the 46 men demanded of Yamamoto.

"The weapon used by the imposter was a zanpakuto but not Kinji Kotetsu's zanpakuto. Additionally, Captain Kurotsuchi is currently analyzing Kinji Kotetsu's reiatsu signature and zanpakuto to be absolutely sure." The elderly soul reaper replied. There was some whispered conversation among the tribunal, but it quieted quickly enough.

"We have reviewed his record several times. His conduct and service are exemplary, but his personal history is undesirable for a potential Captain. Frankly, his association with Sosuke Aizen and the murder of his father are simply too significant to overlook. Even if his innocence is proven in this matter, we will never approve him as a Captain."

"I have worked with the boy for over 100 years and watched him grow. Being forever forbidden from the rank of Captain is something he will likely find unacceptable. He may go so far as to pull his family's support from the Gotei 13."

"His mother holds the power of the Kotetsu, not him." one of the female judges reminded the Captain Commander.

"Haru Kotetsu's youngest son, Jiro Kotetsu was kidnapped during the raid on their manor. Not only did we not assist her in locating her youngest son, but we then arrested her oldest son for a capital crime. Do you honestly believe she would not find the idea of withdrawing her support from us appealing?" he argued back.

"We are not prepared to change this decision and compromise the Gotei 13's loyalty. Discussion on this matter is closed. But, there is one more thing we need to discuss with you, Captain-Commander Yamamoto. This relic you claim was used by the "fake" Kinji Kotetsu. Why do we not have any records on such a powerful and old item?"

"I think I can explain that." Byakuya Kuchiki said as he stepped forward in front of Yamamoto. When Sosuke Aizen killed the previous members of Central 46, he also took great pains to destroy large sections of the Gotei 13's records. We believe that the records of these artifacts were among those destroyed."

"Does the archive of the Kuchiki clan possess records of this Spirit Mirror?" another of the judges asked with a greater degree of calm than his peers.

"Our records began roughly 200 years after the Seireitei came into being. Even that far back there are barely any mentions of that item. But whenever it is mentioned, it is done in conjunction with two other items: The First Sword and the Imperial Gem. Unfortunately, we know little else beside their names and a a description of their appearance."

"Are these artifacts dangerous?" one judge asked. Byakuya paused for a moment, weighing his duty

"The Imperial Gem is better known by another name, the Hogyoku." A clamor erupted among Central 46 until Yamamoto slammed his came to the floor with a thunderous wham.

"I realize this revelation conflicts with what we were told about the Hogyoku, which is why I asked Kisuke Urahara to join us today." There were some disapproving murmurs among the members of Central 46, but when the blond man stepped forward they all sat back and listened to what he had to say.

"Ok, so when I said I made the Hogyoku, I wasn't being entirely accurate. I created a replica of the original Hogyoku that Aizen later stole and tried to awaken by feeding it the powers of soul reapers. When he had the original devour my replica, the artifact not only regained its power, but it became self-aware."

"But you can create replicas of these items at will? Then they must not be as powerful as-"

"Maybe replica was the wrong word. Fragment conveys the idea better. I took some of its power and placed it in an approximate copy of the original. So, in a way I did create the Hogyoku-"

"Spare us your quibbling, Urahara. The Hogyoku was not recovered after the war or during our raid on Hueco Mundo. We can safely assume that artifact is lost forever. But the other two are in the keeping of this alleged separatist group?"

"Yes. The Spirit Mirror was taken from Kinji Kotetsu during the assassination attempt on his a month ago by Lin Feng and two accomplices." Captain Kuchiki said in his usual stoic tone of voice.

"Who you cannot locate. You do not, in fact, have any evidence that a group like the one you describe even exists." This was the sticking point. Because they had no concrete proof there was no way Central 46 could launch an investigation into any of the 4 Great Houses.

"No, your honors." Yamamoto admitted with more than a little heat in his voice. The meeting went downhill from there. There were several judges who insisted that Kinji undergo a full trial but they were overruled by a majority vote.

"When can we interview Kinji Kotetsu?" one of the six higher ranking judges asked.

"He is waiting outside." Byakuya replied with indifference in his tone. "Shall I bring him in?"

* * *

**Division 12 Underground Research Facility-14 hours ago**

Kinji Kotetsu was not happy with his current predicament. He was strapped, half naked, to a cold metal table with several sensors hooked into his skin that shocked him at regular intervals. All the while Mayuri was poking and prodding him with various instruments and inputing commands into his computer. "Are we almost done here?"

"Test subjects shouldn't complain." Mayuri said, picking up a needle thin metal rod from his tray of instruments. The deranged Captain tested the point with his finger and slid it into Kinji's arm, twisting it slightly as he did so. Kinji winced at the pain but kept his mouth shut. "But yes, just another sample and you can leave." he yanked the instrument out of Kinji's arm and placed it in a glass case. He pressed a button and the straps holding Kinji to the table were released.

"Finally." Kinji complained. He put the top of his robe back on and cleared his throat to get the clown-man's attention.

"Are you still here?" Mayuri said irritably.

"I need my zanpakuto back."

"Ugh. Come back another time." Mayuri groused.

"I need it now, Captain Kurotsuchi. I'm not leaving until I have my zanpakuto back." Kinji said stubbornly. After what had happened down in the catacombs, he wasn't going to flinch at Mayuri's scowl. "Yamamoto did order me to return to active duty as soon as possible."

"Follow me, simpleton. And don't touch anything." he said irritably as he stomped off. Kinji was lead through the large computer banks down to Mayuri's sample storage room. It was one of the most eerie and disturbing sights Kinji had ever witnessed, second only to Miko's true nature. Kinji shuddered again at the memory but kept moving. His eyes drifted across huge glass cylinders containing hollows of various types, long dead soul reapers, what he assumed to be Quincy from the tatters of their clothing, and arrancar corpses. There were separate cases where various apparel, likely belonging to the corpses were stored. Broken zanpakuto, Quincy crosses etc. But when they passed into the next room, the corpses were replaced by living beings. Much to Kinji's relief, these samples were all hollows. No living soul reapers or humans were suspended in the fluid connected to some kind of vaguely organic respirator. Just hollows. But, when they moved further in, Kinji spotted five tanks with humanoid shapes floating in them. When he got close he could see the three closest to him.

"What are these?" Kinji asked with a pained sound in his voice. Three arrancars were suspended in a light green solution and connected to breathing machines.

"Very valuable test subjects. So few arrancar were left alive at the battle over Karakura town. These three were the only living samples I managed to collect." Mayuri explained as if he were talking to a dim child. Kinji took a closer look at the three. He hadn't been there during the war. He hadn't even been allowed to read the battle reports. But even so he recognized these three by their description. Three arrancar women who had mask fragments that looked like hair ornaments. They were wearing tattered white clothes and their hair had obviously grown unevenly in the two years after the war. He could see a number of small tubes connected to the three women. Feeding tubes.

"This is probably a dumb question-"

"Obviously." Mayuri shot back as he scanned through data he had collected from an experiment conducted on an unfortunate adjucas hollow that had the misfortune of seeing the mad scientist during his last trip to Hueco Mundo. Apparently there was a lack of true cohesion in the creature's spirit particles. Which explained why they needed to devour other adjucas in order to maintain their form. If he could capture another one he might be able to correct that deficiency through a forceful realignment of it's reishi structure. Of course, it may take several attempts to attain the proper alignment so he would need at least half a dozen specimens to perfect the- hold on, what was that noise? It sounded like someone inputing commands on a console nearby. But that was unlikely. Mayuri Kurtsuchi doubted the barely cognizant primate who had barged into his lab and demanded he perform some tedious examination of his zanpakuto.

"Does Yamamoto know you have these three here?" Kinji asked.

"I don't see how it's any of his concern." Mayuri began transmitting the data to his personal server. He was only paying a marginal amount of attention to the interloper in his lab. What possible harm could one simpleton do?

"Really? Three arrancar being held in suboptimal security in the middle of the Seireitei. What possible concerns could he have about it?"

"Five arrancar,dimwit. There are some kinds of research that require living samples. What I could learn from these five..." A shudder ran up Mayuri's spine and Kinji tried to hide his look of revulsion. "But first things first. I haven't even finished dissecting the corpses of the Espada we brought back from Hueco Mundo." Kinji shook his head grimly. Yamamoto had been right, which meant he would have to follow through with the rest of the plan. The old man had cooked up a new plan, one Kinji had found to his tastes but involved things that came dangerously close to treason. His first two plans had left Kinji in bad places. But third time was supposed to be the charm. Either this one might actually work, or Kinji would end up dead.

"My apologies. Five arrancar. That makes it so much better." Kinji said with more than a little sarcasm. Mayuri either didn't notice or didn't care. He moved closer to the imprisoned hybrids. Behind the three women were another woman and a man. The woman was wearing some kind of dress that flared out just below the hips and a hair ornament above her left eye. The man's mask fragment was a rectangular plate over his forehead with two small horns on top. He had a mustache and goatee of a style Kinji had never seen but lent the man a kind of comical air. Kinji remembered the power he had felt when he met Neliel tu Odelschvank. With five more like her he could do so many things. Now it was Kinji's turn to shudder in anticipation. "Where is my zanpakuto?" he repeated, faking anger and impatience.

"Over there with the others. Now stop pestering me." Mayuri said absentmindedly. Kinji saw a set of glass cases behind the arrancar that held a number of strange weapons. He grabbed Kitsunebi from its case and tucked it safely into his belt. _**Hope your tests weren't as painful as mine.**_

_No. But being separated from you is never comfortable. Not after being alone for so long._

_**I understand. I'm sorry about that. Do you need me to explain the plan?**_

_I think I have the gist of it. You do realize you're being used as bait._

_**True, but when was the last time the bait bit the fish? **_

_You're taking this very personally._

_**They tried to murder me and when that didn't work they framed me for a dozen murders. This has apparently been personal from the start and I just didn't realize it until now. For God's sake they tried to kill my mother and they kidnapped my little brother. **_

_You make good points, but you need to remain calm._

"These arrancar were created with the Hogyoku, correct?"

"You mean you can't tell the difference? The three in front were but the two in back are natural arrancar. The ones made with the Hogyoku have a much more dense reishi structure." Kinji kept the scientist talking while he used the console to grant himself normal access to that part of the building. He would have to come back when he knew Mayuri would be away and cart the five arrancar out of there and back to Kotetsu manor.

"Well, just be careful. If they happened to escape from here and get into the Seireitei, well, I wouldn't want to be you if that happened." Mayuri ignored him in favor of the data being displayed on his computer screen. The moment was perfect. Kinji pressed his hand onto the screen to finish giving himself the credentials to enter the Research building and open the preservation tanks. He was perhaps the only person to ever leave Division 12 with a smile after being tested by Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

* * *

**Division 1 Barracks - 12 hours ago**

"Have they ever done that before?" Kinji asked. He knew Central 46 wouldn't have anything good to say about him, but he hadn't considered the possibility that he would be permanently banned from becoming a Captain. He wasn't angry about it, he hadn't really wanted the post for its own sake, just as a means to an end. But he was still experiencing the stunned surprise of a man running face first into a wall he hadn't known existed.

"It is exceedingly rare. But your record is not on your side."

"This is about Aizen, isn't it." Kinji stated. Yamamoto remained silent in the face of that obvious and seemingly permanent stain on Kinji's record. The fact that Kinji had spent so much time under the care of Sosuke Aizen would likely always cause him problems. Even though he had never been officially under Aizen's command there was a stigma attached to those who had been associated with the traitor for any significant length of time. Renji managed to sidestep that by nearly getting his head lopped off by Aizen during the fight on Sokyoku Hill. Izuru Kira had to die before suspicion about him cleared up. Kinji wasn't yet so fed up with it that he wanted to martyr himself.

"Regardless of your standing with Central 46, are you prepared to entrust your life and honor to the cause before you?"

"There is more here at stake than my life and honor." Kinji reminded him. "I'm dragging my family into this so I need a guarantee. No matter how this ends, find a way to shield them from the backlash. Get my brother back if I can't. Promise me that and you will find me absolutely dedicated." Yamamoto paused for a moment before giving his answer. The terms were really quite reasonable and he would grant Kinji that gladly. But the young man had never once engaged him in that way. He'd known Kinji Kotetsu for a century but this was the first time he had held his head high and made demands. Yamamoto approved of this change. Loyalty was good but Kinji was finally adding a backbone to the mix.

"Granted. But I can make no guarantees for you. When you take up your position as head of your clan, all the responsibility for it's actions rest on your shoulders. Can you hold up under that weight, youngster?" The Captain of the First Division released a portion of his reiatsu to test Kinji's strength and resolve. The temperature in the room jumped up to 200 degrees and the air became stifling. Kinji didn't so much as budge under the tremendous weight even though Yamamoto could see the strain of remaining upright on his former subordinate's face.

"It's what the young are for, isn't it?" Kinji said with a lopsided smile. He rested one hand on his zanpakuto and his own reiatsu made the temperature of the room increase even more.

"Oh ho. You've improved quite a bit in this last month. But you're still just a child!" The weight on Kinji redoubled and some of the papers in the room began to blacked from the ambient heat. Kinji could feel the full brunt of Yamamoto's reiatsu at that moment and it was doing it's utmost to crush him. His own power was easing some of the weight off him but only enough that he could stand and breathe. If he tried to move it would be a sluggish motion, as if he were trying to move deep underwater. Yamamoto was trying to teach him some humility.

"Yeah... but I'm old enough to stand on my own. I...can do it." Kinji said with some difficulty. The air scorched his throat. But just before it became painful the pressure disappeared and the heat began to dissipate. A bead of sweat dripped from the end of Kinji's nose but he remained standing.

"You would have made an excellent Captain, given the time to grow." Yamamoto said with some disappointment.

"Am I really that much of a lost cause?" Kinji asked with trepidation.

"Unless you become much stronger, you will die walking on the road I've set before you." Yamamoto turned his back on Kinji and looked out over the Seireitei. "In a thousand years there hasn't been a single soul reaper who could surpass me in power. Even Sosuke Aizen found his limits before he could become stronger than me but he found a way to cheat. And now, there are three artifacts like the one he used to create a living weapon capable of sealing my power. Tread cautiously and gather as many powerful warriors as you can." Yamamoto suddenly looked his age. The assumed air of frailty he always carried around him as a deception became real for a brief moment. He wasn't physically any weaker than he had been, but Kinji could see some terrible weight dragging at his heart.

"Thank you, Genryuusai-dono." Kinji said.

"Do not thank me, I have most likely sentenced you to death."

* * *

**Underground Assembly Hall - present**

"You arrogant little upstart!" One of the judges was on his feet and shouting at Kinji. He was just the one with the best reaction time. Nearly a dozen of the 40 judges were on their feet and yelling when the meaning of Kinji's words sank in. When they quieted down a little Kinji responded.

"The law laid down is clear on this. Any of the original five noble families are able to claim new territory discovered by the Gotei 13 and make use of the natural resources found there. Unless you can show me a document that gives another clan prior rights then I'm afraid you have no choice but to grant my request. Or do I need to petition the Royal Family?" The threat made the room go utterly silent. It was a tense moment before any of the 46 men who governed Soul Society spoke.

"You are a member of the Gotei 13 and are under our jurisdiction. What would stop us from arresting you?"

"Two things. First, my mother will come forward with the same petition if something happens to me, and I guarantee she won't be nearly as polite. Second, I resigned my position with the Gotei 13 a few hours ago. It was accepted and notarized by three Captains making it official and binding. Now, before you raise any other objections I should give you fair warning, If you test me on this there will be consequences." Kinji reached into his robe and produced the formal written petition sealed with the symbol of his clan. He placed it on the evidence table in the center of the room for the members of the tribunal to examine.

"The Kuchiki clan supports the rights of the Kotetsu clan in this situation."Byakuya added. Suddenly all eyes were on him, most of them hostile. But the statement had the effect of tipping the scale. The murmuring only lasted a few minutes before the

"Despite the foolishness and hubris of your petition, we do not have the right to keep you from making such a claim. But there is another part of the law you have conveniently neglected to cite. Your claim to this new territory is conditional upon your cooperation with the Gotei 13 in matters of military importance. If you cross that line you become guilty of treason." The judge slammed his gavel onto the table in front of him. "Petition granted! The Kotetsu clan is now officially in possession of the territory known as Hueco Mundo!"


	13. Fights and Forgeries

**A/N: big chapter this week. Since I won't have a chance to write for the next week I figured you deserved a longer chapter to tide you over. Not my best work, I'm afraid. As usual, reviews are appreciated.**

Chapter 13

**Division 3 training grounds**

"You are such a pain in the ass!" Aoki took the insult more or less stoically. He had been personally training Kyoko for more than a month. Unfortunately, it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart. He was training her personally because if someone wasn't there to supervice her, she might set fire to Captain Komamura's office in Division 3 again. The fact that the Captain had been inside the office may have had something to do with the order.

At the moment Aoki was training her in something that he hoped would limit collateral damage. It was a sparring session meant to help deal with special abilities in combat. Unfortunately, she wasn't coping very well. "I know you're good at sword play, but you will encounter hollows and other enemies that have strange abilities. You need to adjust your strategy or you'll end up missing a limb." Aoki fiddled with the leather straps securing his shikai to his forearm. The psuedo claws were a sleek matte black with a small metal guard covering his forearm.

"Who in the hell has a power like that? Besides you." she added angrily.

"Not the point." Aoki said for the 32nd time that day. Kyoko was probably stronger than him but she didn't want to think things through. She was smart, when she wanted to be, but she had no patience for strategy or analysis. She just wanted to run roughshod over everyone, and Aoki's shikai made that more or less impossible.

"Shut up!" she made a quick thrust at Aoki's head which he promptly sidestepped and batted the blade down with his claws. Dark green energy crawled up the sword and into Kyoko. She ignored it and tried for diagonal slash when her lead foot slipped out from under her and she landed flat on her back. "I am going to kill you when this is over."

"That isn't nearly as threatening when you're flat on your ass." he held out his hand to help her up. She made a grab for his hand to drag him down next to her and put him in an arm lock. Aoki saw it coming a mile away so he tapped his zanpakuto against her arm, releasing more of the strange power into Kyoko. Her hand slipped off Aoki's wrist and she hit herself square in the nose.

"Dabbit!" she yelled through her bleeding nose. Aoki extended his hand again.

"C'mon. Training session over. Healing session comes next."

"I don neeb and mebit." Kyoko insisted. Aoki rubbed his eyes wearily.

"This is an order. And you know how I hate pulling rank." Aoki grumbled with a soul deep weariness. Someday she would make an excellent officer. But for the moment she was the bane of his existence. Because he was babysitting her he had no time to himself, which was probably for the best given his tendency to mope due to lack of love life.

"Fibe." she said while she used Aoki to pull herself to her feet.

* * *

**Division 4**

Isane was just getting ready to clock out for the afternoon when a subordinate asked her to help with a facial injury. Those were always tough to heal without leaving any visible scars so the less skilled healers would often get someone more skilled to assist them.

"I'm not kidding Kyoko. If you want to advance you need to learn how to cope with this kind of stuff."

"Buck you." she said irritably while a medic tried to examine her broken nose.

"Disrespecting a superior officer isn't a good way to climb the ranks either." he sighed and finished filling out the form.

"Hello." Isane said when she entered the room. But when she saw who it was that was there she froze for a moment. "Aoki, I-um. Hi."

"Hi." he said, looking down slightly. Kyoko looked back and forth between the two a few times.

A sinister light sparkled in her purple eyes.

"How did this happen?" Isane asked to push past the awkwardness.

"Sparring session and some bad luck. She went for an arm bar and her hand slipped." Aoki said.

"Shad ub. Cab you mix dis?" Kyoko asked Isane.

"Yes. But first I need to set the nose which will hurt." Kyoko gave her an impatient look and took the damp rag away from her nose. Isane placed her fingers delicately on Kyoko's nose then gave a brief shove. There was a renewed flow of blood and a grunt of discomfort, but green light quickly slowed the blood and the bruising gradually began to fade.

"So, what? Did you bed her or something, Aoki?" Kyoko asked with a sly smile. Isane's face went beet red and Aoki's eyes went very wide. The other medic in the room made her way to the door and left without a sound.

"We went on one date-" Aoki started. Kyoko cut him off.

"Just one? You're a smooth operator. Or maybe she's just really easy-" then Kyoko was cut off by the noisy entrance of Captain Renji Abarai.

"Hey Isane, I thought you were almost done here?" he looked grumpy from a distinct lack of sleep

"Just a minute or two more." Isane said placatingly. Her face was still a little flushed from embarrassment but she had kept her healing kido steady. She may have been an easily rattled person and was easily embarrassed. But her dedication to her craft was absolute and nothing short of having her head cut off would make her falter in that regard.

"Captain Abarai? Why- I mean, what brings you to Division 4 today, Captain." Aoki stammered out. This was typical of life, to pile all his bad luck on at once.

"Well Isane told me that she was taking a vacation to help her family set up a new branch of their business. I thought she deserved an actual night of vacation before she left. So I grabbed Rangiku, Ichigo, Shuuhei and anyone else who had some free time and told them to meet up at the Rich Omaeda Restaurant in South Rukon 1. What, did you two want to tag along?"

"I-I'm sorry Captain we couldn't-"

"Hell yes! After the day I've had I need to blow off a little steam. Count us in!" Kyoko said with an unnerving amount of enthusiasm.

"All done. It might feel a little tender for a while but that will pass after a day or two." Isane said, standing and leaving the room. Renji followed right after her and left Aoki alone with Kyoko. The two looked at each other and it was a wonder that fire didn't ignite between them.

"I think I hate you." Aoki's hands were shaking slightly.

"Likewise, sissy." Kyoko shot back without fear.

* * *

This was the point of no return. Kinji only had to push a button and everything would change. He would be totally committed. He made another quick examination of the five arrancar to ensure he hadn't made any mistakes with his plan. He would open their containers and carry the five of them out to the cart he had waiting and slap some restraints on to keep them from attacking once the sedatives they were being given through an IV wore off. Once they were safely back at what was left of the manor he would be able to negotiate with them. Or, if necessary, forcibly press them into service.

He went through the list one more time. First he needed an unaltered copy of the battle reports from Hueco Mundo and the fake Karakura Town. Check. Second was the five pairs of spirit manacles. Also check. Third was the covered cart with the Kotetsu clan's official seal. He had brought two, just in case something went wrong. He had also confirmed that Mayuri Kurotsuchi was away on some business and would not return any time soon. But the most important thing, the thing he absolutely couldn't pull this off without, was the massive white silk blanket he had strapped to his back. Someone walking out of Division 12 with large, bulky containers was commonplace enough that he wouldn't be paid any mind. But as macabre as the place was, you couldn't walk out of there with five bodies without being paid inconvenient attentions. Checklist complete, he executed the command on the strange computer console that he had first used to give himself access to the building.

"Beginning subject detachment." a mechanical voice sounded from the computer. He watched the slow release with a slight self-disgust. As grossly disturbing as it was to watch the process of bodies being disconnected from a twisted life-preservation system, he found a kind of parallel to a more beautiful and wholesome process. It was like watching infants being born. The green fluid the arrancar hung suspended in was drained into the floor. The vaguely organic tubes were pulled from the arms and necks of the arrancars and the sank slowly to the bottom of their tubes as the level of fluid went down. Then, finally, the capsules opened and collapsed into the floor. None of the warriors stirred from where they lay. Kinji let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. They were all still sedated and would not give him trouble. He clamped the manacles over the forearms of all five and laid them on the huge square of silk. Then he activated the kido he had modified and placed in the cloth. The silk went rigid as if it were a sheet of metal instead of cloth. Then it bent itself around the five to encase each in a coffin-like compartment and bundled them together. He secured the leather straps to the bundle and heaved the whole of it onto his shoulders. The weight was not much compared to what Captains or the equivalent could lift. But five bodies made for a large and bulky weight and forced Kinji to focus on his balance.

The arrancars' weapons were still in the same glass case and Kinji wrapped in the silk as well, creating a sixth person-sized bundle. There were no problems until he reached the gate that would let him out of the place. A deep voice called out for him to stop.

"Where are you going with that?" Akon demanded. As the 3rd Seat of Division 12 he was in charge whenever Kurotsuchi took off on one of his research trips.

"I'm taking this equipment to Kotetsu Manor. It was arranged by the Captain-Commander yesterday so that my clan can get moving tomorrow."

"I don't have any records of you coming to retrieve anything."

"Does that surprise you? I'm not exactly your Captain's favorite person so he probably wouldn't tell you anything. Check your records." Akon gave him a distrusting look but did as Kinji suggested. He relaxed when he found the transfer of equipment form in the database.

"You're taking the materials necessary to open the garganta to Hueco Mundo. Good luck with that adventure. I'd say I'll see you later, but I doubt you'll be coming back here." Akon said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." _**Sucker**_ Kinji added silently. Tweak a couple of forms and you could get away with murder.

_It's remarkable how heavily the Gotei 13 relies on its bureaucracy._ Kitsunebi said in amazement and disappoinment. She'd been hoping someone would try to stop him and make a mess of everything. She didn't want him to get caught, she just wanted to see something entertaining. Not that watching Kinji give the finger to everyone in Central 46 wasn't fun, but with all the preparations he had been forced to set into movement Kinji hadn't been paying any attention to her.

_**It's a massive organization. Bureaucracy is inevitable. **_

He walked freely out of the building and loaded his package onto the cart_. _Akon waved goodbye with an amused look on his face. Rin walked out of the gate and tilted his head at the sight in front of him.

"Akon, why are you just letting him walk away? He's stealing our Captain's property!"

"Calm down Rin. His paperwork was in order. There's nothing we could do even if we wanted to make an issue of it." Akon said smugly. Of course, he knew the paperwork was falsified but it was in his best interests to let Kinji leave with the arrancars. He did want to take over Division 12 some day and Mayuri falling from favor would only expedite his ascent. "The Captain will just have to deal with it when he gets back."

* * *

Emilou Apache felt so heavy. It was like her limbs had turned to lead and every breath was taxing to her strength. She was floating in a sea of nothingness, like one of the poor souls who had become lost in the garganta. But instead of wasting away she continued to exist. It felt awful to be trapped there in that stagnant void, in a constant state of waiting like a book on a shelf. She was alive, she knew, but that she wasn't being allowed to live. She had no sense of the world outside the darkness and her mind raged against the imprisonment. It was futile. She couldn't escape from this tiny hell. Was it hell? She wondered at that question several times during her more self-aware moments. She'd expected more obvious torture like fire or creatures with sharp teeth. But if this was hell then it exceeded her expectation. She was alone, totally alone without anyone or anything to experience. It was only a small mercy that there were moments when she seemed to drift away and cease being conscious.

Then that bleak world changed. She no longer floated in the void but felt something solid against her back. She still couldn't see or move but she struggled all the more against her noncompliant muscles sensing instinctively that her chance to escape was coming. She struggled and cursed as powerfully as she could but all that made it through was a weak twitching of her lips.

* * *

Haru had dragged half a dozen guest beds out of the wreckage of her home and placed them under a roughly worked canopy of bamboo. It had been centuries since she had "roughed it". She found that she didn't miss it much. But she had to keep busy. If she didn't keep moving and keep the workers making repairs and preparations her worry for Jiro would slam right back into her mind. Her children were the crown jewels of her life and Jiro had always been special to her. He reminded Haru the most of her late husband and of her four offspring Jiro was the only one who had stayed with her.

"Lady Kotetsu!" one of the workers shouted. "They're waking up!"

"Quickly, get them to the beds." Haru said. She even helped the workers of the Kotetsu businesses to carry the arrancars to the scavenged beds. But none of the humanoid hollows were waking up. "They seem to still be sedated. Why did you think they were waking up?"

"The one with blue hair started mumblin'. Looks like she stopped." the worker was a large man with deeply tanned skin and thick gray hair. He was a carpenter whose normal work days were filled with constructing barns for the farms sponsored and protected by the Kotetsu. But he, like most of the tradesman present at the manor, had been contracted to repair the great house.

"Thank you for letting me know. Tell Kinji that his guests are waking up." the word "guest was loaded with irony. She wasn't exactly happy with the plan Kinji had put forth, particularly not with the part that included allying themselves with hollows. For Jiro's sake she would endure these unpleasant schemes and alliances. But when she saw the blue haired arrancar's face twist in a kind of desperate pain another emotion made it's appearance. Haru had been a merciless warrior when she was younger. Whether her opponent was a soul reaper or hollow she would crush them without a second thought. But after raising four children she had learned the depths of sympathy. That maternal instinct now moved her to pity that arrancar. The creature twisted around weakly on the formerly opulent bed. Sweat beaded on her head and neck. Haru put a hand to the hollow's forehead, avoiding the mask fragment, and tried to gauge the woman's temperature. Her skin felt hot to the touch so Haru put a cool, damp washcloth on her. The other four remained just as docile as they had been when she had first seen them.

"Mother-" Kinji started but stopped when he saw his mother tending to one of the arrancars. "What's going on?"

"I think one of them is sick." Haru said briskly. She stood up faster than she had to, embarrassed at being seen tending to a hollow.

"Um, OK. Let's see, this one is Emilou Apache. She was a Fraccion that served under Tres Espada Tia Halibel." Kinji knelt down to feel her pulse. Even though hollows lacked a "heart" their blood still flowed like that of a soul reaper. Hers was through the roof. "Yeah, I see what you mean." He stood and pulled a chair to the side of the bed. "It's a reaction to coming off the sedatives. If I keep her fever down she should make it. But send for a medic, just in case it's something else. And mother-" Haru stopped for a moment before going to get the medic. There was something in Kinji's tone of voice that told her what he was about to say was important. "Thank you. For everything." His voice was a little low, but she heard the words clearly. Instead of putting her at ease or making her smile like he meant them to, Haru found herself scared. Those words had the quality of a goodbye. Like Kinji didn't expect to survive the plan he was setting into motion. "No matter what, I'll get Jiro back." Her heart skipped a beat and she turned back around. The look in Kinji's eyes didn't do anything to put her at ease. In fact, the feeling of dread only grew when she saw how distant his eyes were. Like he was standing at the edge of the world and looking back.

She pulled back from the horrible thought that she would lose another child and went to get a medic. If she started dwelling on the possibility of loss she would lose it. When Haru lost it people ended up very dead. And more bodies wasn't what was needed right then.

Kinji hadn't even noticed what he was doing, but Kitsunebi took note of her master's actions with distress. Somewhere along the line the idea that he wasn't going to survive this plan had taken root in his heart. That by itself wasn't necessarily a problem, but the other idea that had taken root was that he shouldn't survive. That in some way he deserved to die after doing all the things he would need to do in order to claim victory. She could tell that working with arrancar felt very wrong to him. No real surprises there, all soul reapers had an instinctive hatred of hollows. But she knew that her master would be in a quandry when considering what the arrancar were. They were hollows that had taken on many characteristics of a soul reaper including a restored quality of "agency" or "free will". But despite their renewed personhood, the fact was that their bodies were composed of the souls of thousands of people. Those souls would not be freed until the arrancar were killed with a zanapakuto. Or would that even be possible anymore? They were a gray existence, one that grated on his sensibilities. That very same inner conflict was present when he met Neliel tu Odelschvank, causing a subtle animosity to creep into his actions. But then, if their existence was so intolerable then why did the suffering of this arrancar move his heart to pity? Kitusnebi looked up and saw the stars and moon hidden by stormclouds. This turmoil and indecision was unacceptable.

_Do not yet count yourself a sinner, me dear master._ Kinji's stiffened a little at his zanpakuto's words.

_**Should I not? Maybe not yet but soon I will be.**_

_ Perhaps, but you need not grieve over something not yet lost. Be at ease, enjoy that which has been given to you. You are not yet barred from the heavens._ Kitsunebi rose from the pillows she reclined on and reached her hand to the sky. Blue fire erupted from her and blasted away the clouds. Kinji felt her power flow into him, strengthening and comforting him in the same instance.

_**Alright. I'll put my misgivings aside, for your sake.**_ The zanpakuto blushed a little at her master's words. Indeed, even a weapon like her had a heart, and one that could appreciate being loved. Words came to her then and resonated though her being. The old sayings was really true, where there was life there was hope.

"Who...the hell..." a feminine yet rough voice cut through Kinji's interior conversation. His gray eyes met the mismatched eyes of Emilou Apache. Through force of will she had sped up her own metabolism, pushing her body to it's physical limits in order to faster escape the nothingness of long-term sedation. And now she was back. But who was this man who filled her sight? She had no idea and she didn't like that he was the first things she saw. Her first sight should have been Master Halibel!

"Greetings, Emilou Apache. My name is Kinji Kotetsu and you're currently under my care." he used a low level ice kido to once again cool the wet cloth on her head. She may have been awake but she still had a fever.

"Where...am I?" she struggled to speak. Her body had become atrophied from lack of use. She tried to lift her arm and grab onto the guy in order to pull herself up. Then she realized her arms were shackled together. Anger surged up in her again. "Let me go."

"I'm sorry, but if I did that the Gotei 13 would slaughter you. Once you're healthy I'll release you, but only after you answer one question for me. Or, perhaps two questions, depending on your first answer."

"Bastard." she said succinctly.

"My parents were married, thank you very much. Now lay back and rest. No one is going to harm you here." Kinji noticed several of the other arrancar were waking up. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go speak with the others." He talked with each and each reacted differently. Mila-Rose had given him a predatory smile that promised pain, Sun-Sun had simply ignored him, Cirruci had called him some interesting names. But the male arrancar, Dordonii, had asked him an interesting question.

"Do you know a soul reaper with orange hair who can wear a hollow mask?" Kinji had narrowed his eyes, initially thinking the answer to be no. But then he realized this arrancar was talking about the Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki.

"I know someone like that. Why do you ask?"

"So you did survive, Niño. Bueno suerte." then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Kinji expected as much. It would take time for the drugs to fully leave their systems and until they did the arrancar wouldn't be capable of much. In a day or so they should at least be ambulatory, though likely in no condition to fight.

"Get some rest." He said with a fake smile on his face. Then Apache rolled out of her bed and tried getting to her feet. It wasn't very impressive, she couldn't even get up to her knees. Kinji sighed a little and walked over to her. "Careful. You've been under sedation for a very long time. In a day or so the drugs will be completely out of your system." he crouched down and lifted her by her waist. She protested weakly, cursing at him. "Can I get you some water? Something to eat?" he asked as he laid her back on the bed.

"Shove it..." Kinji gave a genuinely amused smile and went back to his chair. After a few minutes of silence he heard her asking something else.

"Master Halibel...What happened to-" Kinji recognized that name from the battle report. He pulled a sheaf of papers out of his robe and started looking through them. He hesitated when he found the entry because he wasn't sure what kind of reaction it would bring about. But lying to any of them at that moment might undermine his entire plan.

"She disappeared after the War. Aizen gave her a mortal wound but when the area was searched we couldn't- sorry, they couldn't find her body. Best guess is that she's still alive but her whereabouts are unknown." It wasn't the whole truth but she didn't need to know the rest just yet. The thing he was keeping back would probably upset her even more than what he had just told her. And what he'd just told her had upset the arrancar a great deal. Apache was gripping weakly at the black robe he had yet to take off.

"Gonna...find... her." the woman vowed with an intensity that stunned Kinji. He'd been lead top believe that arrancar were only conditionally loyal. What he saw in Apache's eyes was devotion.

"If I can help, I will." Kinji promised. He pried her hands from his robe and laid them back on the bed, pushing her back onto it as well. "Rest for a while." Finally, Apache's exhaustion overcame her willpower and she slipped out of consciousness. He stayed with her for another hour, keeping the cloth on her head cool. But then he decided to catch a few hours of sleep. He'd need patience and physical endurance for tomorrow. And something to wear that wasn't the uniform of the Gotei 13. He was just laying down in a bed of grasses he had put together for himself when his eyes snapped wide open. He sat up and felt a heat in his chest, exploding with every beat of his heart. At first he wondered if he had been poisoned, but as it subsided he realized he had been very briefly and very intensely angry. He shrugged and laid back down, chocking it up to a nervous reaction to his new reality.

* * *

Renji had pulled together a motley crew of officers for his night of drinking and revelry. Renji, Matsumoto, Isane, Kiyone, Sentaro, Aoki, Kyoko, Ichigo, and Shuuhei were just the ones who showed up at the beginning of the evening. As they jumped around from restaurant to bar to more bars they picked up another dozen officers. The amount of alcohol consumed was incredible, both in volume and in expenses. Everyone there was at least buzzed while several of them were well and truly drunk.

"You make such a cute couple!" Rangiku Matsumoto gushed over Renji and Isane. "You're kids are going to be so adoreable!" Renji's red face got a little lighter and his back went ramrod straight. Isane started waving her hands around.

"It's not like that Rangiku! We haven't even-"

"I just realized, you're a noble, right Isane? Does that mean Renji would be the head of your clan?"

"Matsumoto, just lay off her would ya? She's about to have a panic attack from all the things you're suggesting."

"But don't you think she's adorable when she's blushing like that?" Renji never got a chance to answer.

"Isane!" Kiyone shouted just before she glomped onto her sister and knocked both her and Renji over. After a moment of fumbling, Matsumoto pulled a camera out of her robe and started snapping pictures of the two sisters laid out on top of a squirming Renji. She got a dozen shot of Renji's hands on the Kotetsu sisters' butts and legs and he struggled to extricate himself.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was stumbling out of the bar, looking of Rukia who said she was staying with her brother. Shuuhei followed him out, not in much better shape. "Hey Shuuhei. Was the Kuchiki manor this way?"

"Pretty sure it's this way." Shuuhei mumbled. They staggered and stumbled around the Seireitei for the better part of an hour before they wandered into Division 11. Thankfully most of the Division was out drinking, as was usual for them, except for Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa who had drawn the short straws for guard duty.

"Hey! Byakuya! Rukia! Where're you guys hiding?"

"I don't think this is the Kuchiki house, Ichigo." Hisagi said more loudly than he intended.

"What the hell is all this racket?" The bald 3rd Seat grumbled as he went to check on the situation. He was already in a bad mood and he didn't need anyone wrecking the place while he was on guard duty.

"Ikkaku? Why are you staying with the Kuchikis?" Ichigo said drunkenly. "Damn that Byakuya, inviting everyone other than me to his house."

"Looks like they're both drunk, Ikkaku." Yumichika said speculatively. "How unsightly."

"Hey, I haven't forgotten about that trick you pulled, Yumichika. This time you won't get the best of me." Shuuhei said, putting a hand on his zanpakuto.

"Why me?" Ikkaku said dispareingly. "I should be the one out getting hammered, not dealing with these drunk bastards."

"What did you say? Try telling that to my sword, Ikkaku!" Ichigo drew Zangetsu from his back and pointed it at the now angry 3rd Seat.

"You wanna go? Fine. Boring as hell standing guard anyway." He drew his sword and lunged. Moments later, the four soul reapers were engaged in a somewhat confusing fight. Ichigo and Shuuhei would occasionally switch who they were fighting. The fight went on until the alcohol caused the acting Captain and acting Lieutenant of Division 9 to pass out in the middle of Division 11's practice grounds.

* * *

"I'm really sorry about this Aoki." Isane said for the 4th time since they'd left the bar. Renji had passed out suddenly after a cup of sake and Isane had asked Aoki to help her and Kyoko carry Renji and Matsumoto back to their respective barracks.

"Don't mention it." he grumbled. In truth he probably wouldn't have agreed at all if he didn't think he could sneak a peek around Divisions 5 and 10. His natural curiosity compelled him to accept, even if only for the sake of seeing something new. They were halfway to Division 5 when a carriage pulled up next to the five soul reapers.

"Isane? What are you doing all the way out here?" Haru asked. She had just come from the Kuchiki estate after conducting some business.

"Mother?" Isane asked, more to herself than anyone.

"Hop in, all of you. You can all stay with us tonight." Haru said sweetly. Isane blinked a few times.

"Um, wasn't the house kind of demolished?" Isane asked as delicately as possible.

"Well, yes. But with a little help we've reinforced the south wing of the estate and refurnished it. I was actually just at the Kuchiki estate dealing with the funds transfer. Not my usual kind of thing but I got to meet Byakuya's little sister. Definitely made it worth the trip. Now get in so we can get back soon." Haru practically shoved everyone into the small cabin and they got underway. The ride back was very quiet despite Haru's best attempts to instigate conversation. When they made it to the manor they dumped the two unconscious soul reapers in the recently purchased futons. When they did, Rangiku stirred a little. She came halfway out of her drunken stupor and put a hand in her robe.

"Lost it again? Captain won't be happy..." then she drifted back to sleep.

"I get the feeling she does this often." Aoki said bemusedly. He even used a stray feather from the mattress to tickle her nose.

"You're one weird pervert." Kyoko said.

"You seem to have made some interesting friends Isane." Haru held out a hand with her thumb up. "Nice job!" Isane just stood there with half a smile on her face.

* * *

The next morning came early for everyone. Kinji was woken a few minutes before sunrise by the sound of feet stepping down tall grass. A familiar sweet smell tickled his nose as the chill morning breeze swept over him. He smiled without opening his eyes. "Since you're practically announcing yourself I might as well greet you properly. Good morning, Captain Sui-Feng."

"Good morning? What a stupid thing to say when you haven't even opened your eyes." Kinji cracked one open and saw the petite Captain leaning against a tree just a few feet away from him.

"So what brings a Captain all the way out here to visit a dropout like me?" he said with a trace of sleep still in his voice. That earned him a smile from Sui-Feng.

"It's my job to know what goes on in the Seireitei. And someone recruiting an army puts them om my visit list." Kinji's smile was even wider than Sui-Feng's.

"I'm honored. To think that my meager gains constitute an army. Yamamoto would be pleased to hear your assessment. Is that all you came here for? Or did you want to revisit old memories?" Kinji asked suggestively. Sui-Feng's smile got sharper at that comment.

"It's been a while since anyone taunted me like that." she said. "But I'll let it slide. You're going to have a rough morning without me kicking your ass." She tossed him a small pink box that thudded onto his stomach. He picked up the camera and looked it over. "I though it was strange that you didn't go after Abarai in revenge for that trick he played."

"To be honest, I almost want to thank him for it. There are a few things better than waking up next to a beautiful woman, but not many." A light blush colored Sui-Feng's face. She looked away from Kinji's lazy and satisfied smile.

"Well, after you see what's on that camera, I think you may change your opinion of him." Kinji turned the girly looking device on and started looking through the pictures in its memory. Rangiku had taken many pictures of that night and Kinji found himself smiling at many of them. But then he came to one where Isane and Kiyone were laying on top of someone. He blinked but flipped to the next picture. After all, his younger sister liked to roughhouse, such things sometimes happened. But the next picture featured a red-haired head looking out from between his sisters. His heart skipped a beat for a moment. But he used the same excuse as the first photo. Accidents sometimes happened. He clicked the button and brought up the next photo. A vein popped out of his forehead. Renji's hands were in places they had no business being. The device creaked a little under his grip. "I think Lieutenant Matsumoto has a talent for photography, don't you?" Sui-Feng added.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If you'll excuse me, I have a few things I need to do this morning." Sui-Feng recognized that tone of voice. Kinji had lost it. Just like when he had broken down the door to her barracks, his anger had pushed him into a state of irresistible impulse. Now all she had to do was sit back and watch Renji Abarai get what she believed he deserved. "I'm going to beat the living shit out of that LECHEROUS MOTHERF-!"


	14. Monkeys and Cats

**A/N: Well, here's Chapter 14. As always I appreciate reviews and constructive criticism.**

Chapter 14

It hadn't been the best few days for Kinji Kotetsu. The loss of his home and his brother, as well as leaving the organization he had dedicated the majority of his adult life to, add on the stress of playing his part in the current scheme and you had one former soul reaper with extremely tattered nerves. If one were to exert pressure on one of Kinji's psychological weak points while he was in that battered state, he would crumble like a house made of matchsticks.

Sui-Feng had done far more than simply exert pressure. She had lobbed a firebomb at Kinji's state of mind and the explosion was spectacular. Like the match stick house had been soaked in gasoline. The grass bed Kinji had laid out for himself ignited with blue fire where his feet kicked off for his flash step. Sui-Feng watched it all with a smile on her face. After taking a second to stamp out the blue fire and pick up the dropped camera, she chased after Kinji. After all her hard work she wouldn't settle for anything less than front row seats.

* * *

The morning was a little chill and damp, but the sunlight provided a comfortable warmth on the faces of the arrancars in their high-class beds. Kinji had provided the best of accommodations for his "guests". But what should have been a gentle waking moment was spoiled by a loud shout and a burst of murderous reiatsu. All five arrancars leaped out of their beds, their hands instinctively reaching for their zanpakuto. Upon finding themselves berift of their weapons they released their _pesquisa_ to locate the source of the hostile reiatsu. They found it, approaching fast from the direction of Kotetsu manor, and chasing a reiatsu of similar level. They all watched with open mouths as their self-proclaimed rescuer chased a red-haired man wearing a Captain's haori around the grounds with what appeared to a be a large chunk of support beam and screaming like a madman.

"It was an accident!" Renji shouted behind him. He was running full out to keep ahead of the enraged Kotetsu heir. The tree trunk Kinji was trying to hit him with was eight feet long and must have weighed several hundred pounds.

"You're about to have another one!" Kinji screamed back.

"Great. We lost the war, got stuffed into jars, and the guy who rescued us is nuts. Anyone else think we're cursed?" Apache asked.

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Sun-Sun said. "Maybe he has a good reason for chasing another man with a giant block of wood." The sarcasm was practically dripping from her words.

"Well, it seems like a good reason to him." came a feminine voice from behind the five guests of the Kotetsu clan. Sui-Feng was sitting in the chair Kinji had occupied the night before. All five of the humanoid hollows spun around the moment the first syllable left her mouth. She could see the thoughts of all of them pass over their faces. They considered attack, escape, and taking her hostage be fore they realized she hadn't attacked them. With their hands and reiatsu restrained there wasn't much they could do if she had. Sui-Feng gleefully observed Renji's confused and terrified face until he looked in her direction. She waved at him, Rangiku's camera in hand. Understanding dawned just before Kinji tried to crush him. He dodged to the side just in time and took off running again.

"Look man, I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" Renji shouted to the man trying to bludgeon him to death. Kinji slowed down then stopped. Renji did the same because it appeared that his apology had diffused the enraged man. Renji moved closer slowly. His instincts told him that there was still roiling anger underneath the penitent face. Kinji extended his hand in a gesture of conciliation. The other man's hand inched toward Kinji's at a snail's pace. The audience waited expectantly to see what would happen. Sui-Feng had Rangiku's camera trained on the two men. Moments seemed to crawl by as Renji moved his hand closer to Kinji's while simultaneously preparing to dodge a punch or sword cut.

Renji gripped Kinji's hand and shook it hesitantly at first then more openly. A smile turned up the corners of Kinji'ss mouth and Renji relaxed. Half a second later Kinji's grip tightened and Renji was caught fast. He saw the small smile sour into an expression of extreme dislike. Kinji's kick took Renji between the legs with tremendous speed and force. He left Renji on the ground curled up and cupping his genitals. "Apology accepted." Kinji whispered into Renji's ear as the red-haired soul reaper tried not to vomit from the pain.

"I'm going to have that picture framed and mounted on my office wall." Sui-Feng practically purred.

"So what did the guy with the red hair do?" Mila-Rose asked Sui-Feng. The spymaster felt like dancing but she restrained herself.

"He let someone photograph him with his hands on butts of two women he had no business touching." That made everyone else do a doubletake. The expressions on their faces ranged from disdainful to approving. Dordonii turned to his fellow arrancars.

"I, for one, am impressed by the depth of his loyalty to his _familia_."

"Loyalty is good, but he's still batshit crazy." Cirucci said.

"Well, Aizen was sane and only gave a damn about himself. This guy is like the exact opposite, but he's still a soul reaper. We can't trust him." The amazonian arrancar said.

"Actually, he resigned from the Gotei 13." the Captain of Division 2 corrected. "The Kotetsu clan laid claim to Hueco Mundo under the laws of the Soul Society. So, technically speaking, he's your new neighbor. Trust him or not, you're going to have to find a way to live with him." Sui-Feng hid the camera away in the folds of her uniform and stood up from her chair. None of the hollows moved. Not even so much as a twitch. The most aggressive and impulsive of the group, Apache, shot her a dirty look but knew she couldn't fend off a Captain with those damnable restraints on her. The Captain of the 2nd Division, Commander of the Onmitsukido, reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small silver key. She spun the slender piece of metal between her fingers with a fluid grace that would put a stage magician to shame. But her teases lasted only a brief moment. She approached Sun-Sun first and removed the shackles. As the heavy metal bindings hit the floor the tension in the room ratcheted up several notches. "The Kotetsu clan, as one of the Four Great Noble Houses, is capable of constructing a powerful barrier that cannot be brought down without secrets known only to the Royal Family. A barrier that is impossible to sense reiatsu through, and one that makes unauthorized dimensional travel impossible." As she spoke she unlocked the shackles on the powerful fighters one by one. "It took an entire day to set it up, and now that it is there's no reason for us to restrain your reiatsu."

_No reason?_ The arrancars wondered in near unison. Mila-Rose stepped closer to Sui-Feng before she asked her next question. She was easily a head taller than the Captain and outweighed her by quite a bit. But if these disadvantages intimidated Sui-Feng it didn't show. "Maybe you should explain things from the beginning. What kind of situation are we in?" The master assassin considered that for a moment then turned to walk away. "Hey! Don't just walk-"

"It's not my job to explain this. You want answers? Go talk to psycho boy over there." They all turned to look at the silver-haired noble who was dragging an unconscious Renji toward them by his hair. More than one of the arrancars considered making a run for it. But, on the surface, Kinji appeared to have regained some semblance of sanity, which at least made staying to listen to him a reasonable choice. Kinji dropped Renji at the edge of the impromptu building and approached his prospective recruits.

"Sorry about the rude wake-up. I just had to deal with something before I could focus on something else." He kicked the already brutalized Captain once more to emphasize his aggravation. Then he noticed that they were all free of restraints. "Looks like Sui-Feng got the party started without me. Did she at least tell you about the barrier?" Despite his friendly attitude the body language and expressions in the room remained hostile. "Relax. I have no intention of holding any of you prisoner. But before I just let you go running off I have a responsibility to inform you of the situation you find yourselves in." He motioned with his hand to the small bedside stands that had been placed next to each bed. "I've made copies of the official battle reports from the Winter War for each of you. You can read them whenever it's convenient. But there are more pressing matters to talk about."

"Out with it already!" Apache groused. Kinji gave her a smile and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably.

"I guess I'm kind of dancing around the point. If you leave here you'll be able to return to Hueco Mundo, but before long my clan will be taking possession of Las Noches and establishing a base of operations there. As far as Soul Society is concerned, we own the place. The reason I gathered you here is to make you an offer." The expression on his face altered suddenly, a grave attention replacing the easy smile. "Join my family. Help me bring Las Noches under control. In exchange, you won't have to worry about the Gotei 13."

"Bullshit!" Cirruci interrupted loudly. "You soul reapers have always been our enemies. We've been trying to kill each other for millenia. Why should we believe this load of garbage?"

"I'm not a soul reaper." Kinji corrected. "And why do you think it's garbage? If I formally add you to my clan then the Gotei 13 are forbidden by law to attack you."

"Dumbass. That's not what she was talking about." Apache added with her head resting in her hand. She'd chosen to sit back onto a bed when Kinji began speaking.

"What she meant was that it would be impossible for someone as weak as you to conquer Hueco Mundo." Kinji rocked back like he'd been slapped.

"So that's really what you all think of me?" Kinji asked. He got the confirmation he needed just by looking at the faces of his audience. He'd been hoping they would be more amenable to reason so he wouldn't have to resort to brute force. But, despite their human looks, it seemed they still had more than a bit of hollow in them. They simply refused to follow someone who they viewed as weaker than them. "I'll have to fix that then." Kinji flash stepped to a smaller hut on the other side of the compound. He returned an instant later with the case containing their zanpakutos. He dumped them out unceremoniously onto the ground in front of his potential allies. "If you need proof of my strength then I'll just have to show you first hand. Who wants to fight me first?"

"Kid, if you think you'll be fighting one-on-one in Hueco Mundo you're an idiot. You'll be mobbed by Menos Grande and ordinary hollows from the first moment you get there." Mila-Rose said after she picked up her sword.

"Then all of you can take me on at once." Kinji said without a hint of humor in his expression.

"It seems someone isn't expecting much of a fight from us." Sun-Sun muttered while slipping her sai-like zanpakuto back into her sleeve.

"I have to agree with her, Jovenzuelo. This is a fooli-" Dordonii had just finished slipping his zanpakuto into the sash around his waist when he found Kinji's hand on the back of his head and the point of a sword scraping the skin on the back of his neck. He didn't dare move.

"I don't know how strong you were when you fought in the war, but two years of captivity has weakened you. Right now, I have no doubt I could crush the lot of you. But you don't have to take my word for it." He shoved the arrancar in his grip away from him. "But let's not do this here. There's an underground arena a short walk away." he pointedly turned his back to the group of hollows and proceeded to walk out of the temporary dwelling. None of them followed.

Kinji sighed in disappointment. They still weren't taking them seriously. He was just about to turn around and attack them where they stood when Sui-Feng stepped out from behind a tree. "Not exactly leader of the day material. Maybe you just weren't cut out to be Captain." she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. Kinji felt a twinge in his heart at the insult.

"Like you can talk. It's been over a year and you can't even threaten someone into being your Lieutenant." Kinji knew it was a mistake the moment the words left his mouth. Sui-Feng rocked back a little, then leaned forward with an aggressive smile on her face.

"Maybe you just turned me down because you don't know what I'm capable of." she taunted. Anticipation was added to the mix of emotion swirling through Kinji's chest. That look on her face was so intriguing to him. He decided that if he couldn't demonstrate his power against the arrancars then Sui-Feng would be a perfect alternative. It was strange though, he was certain he should be feeling fear. There was none, just the anticipation of leveraging his strength, skill, and ingenuity against someone who might be stronger than him.

"Maybe I'm just not afraid of a Captain who had to have a ryoka clean up after her." And just like that, the Commander of the Onmitsukido attacked. Her flash step was breathtakingly fast. Kinji certainly couldn't match her speed or skill in that arena. But the kick she leveled at his neck was stopped cold by his arm. Even though she was faster, his arm had a far shorter distance to move than her leg. Spiritual energy flooded the area as the two of them clashed.

The arrancars appeared the instant they noticed the sudden change. As they observed the next flurry of attacks from the smaller combatant. Energy flew out from the pair in small bursts as they fought with their bare fists. The difference in style was ridiculously obvious. Sui-Feng's attacks were so fast that following the individual movements was a fools errand. In contrast, Kinji's defensive movements and counter attacks were much slower but carried greater force. He relied on simple economy of movement to keep up with the faster strikes. "You fight like an old man!" Sui-Feng laughed derisively.

"And you fight like a girl!" Kinji fired back. His arms were beginning to feel bruised from the sheer number of blows he was forced to block. Fighting Sui-Feng was like trying to fend off debris from a tornado. The hits were fast, powerful, and seemed to come at nigh impossible angles. But his body was sturdy and he was just fast enough to take the hits with non-vital areas. But each time he tried a punch Sui-Feng would thread a kick through the opening the punch left in his guard. Three times she had managed to land a blow to his chest or stomach. Each one of them hurt, but none injured him enough to hinder his movements. Punches and kicks came in faster every time she scored a solid hit. But Kinji had an ace up his sleeve. He was beginning to recognize a pattern to her attacks. She used a flurry of hand strikes to shift his guard into a suitable position then followed up with half a dozen kicks on either his right or left side. Her attacks were well suited to fighting someone like him who relied on strong stances and powerful strikes.

She left him no time or space for a true counter attack. But this strategy was based on the premise that all of his attacks were powerful and slow. It was a faulty assumption and Kinji was going to make her pay for it. He built up energy in his right hand slowly, carefully. Then, the moment she shifted from punches to kicks he used his ace in the hole, Sabeji Migite. His right hand shot forward at a speed surpassing Sui-Feng's own. Blue fire laced his fingers which were laid flat to make the blow non-lethal. Sui-Feng still nearly managed to bring up her leg to deflect the punch and blue fire incinerated part of the cloth on her right leg. It also set fire to the yellow sash she used to keep her haori bound tightly around her waist. That was just collateral damage. His strike drove the breath from her lungs and bruised her stomach.

"She's gonna feel that one!" Apache said excitedly. The arrancars had been growing more excited the longer they watched. Even Sun-Sun, who preferred to act indifferent to her surroundings, was leaning forward with excitement and anticipation. She remembered how easily the woman had crushed Ggio Vega, and she wanted to see if the silver-haired noble could fight on par with her.

"Don't counter her out just yet." Sun-Sun said slyly. "She was the one who fought Barragan after all. Since she's here I assume she managed to win." The two Privaron Espada looked much more closely at the petite Captain. They had lost their rank as Espada, but that only meant the knew the strength of those in Aizen's premier force better than anyone else. They had thought Barragan to be invincible. But here stood someone who had fought him and come out on top.

Sui-Feng's moment of weakness was just that, a very brief moment. She tore the sash and haori away and used it to smother the flames on her leg. Kinji took the opportunity to speak a spell that he kept inert and bound it around his arm beneath his sleeve. No sense in letting a perfectly good advantage go to waste. "That was an assassination technique." Sui-Feng stated with appreciating in her tone.

"I didn't really fit in the Onmitsukido. But that doesn't mean they didn't give me some ideas." Kinji said with respect.

"Didn't fit?"

"Being in the Onmitsukido means you have to accept a certain kind of team ethic. I was never able to commit to a team or partnership, and at the same time be willing to let those I committed myself to die to achieve my objectives. The professionalism that you take so much pride in is anathema to who I am." Kinji put a hand on his sword. _**Thanks to you, I can now understand why.**_

_Flattery is nice, but I'd like a chance to dance with Suzumebachi._

_**I'll see what I can do.**_

"Maybe you weren't the right choice. Omaeda was a lazy, incompetent fat-ass. But, I could count on him to put the mission first." She tossed the scorched clothing into a pile against one of the bamboo constructed huts. He could see a pale leg peaking out from the hole in her shihakusho. The muscle there was obvious, but also supple in a very enticing way. _Keep your head out of her pants for a few minutes longer, please? _The voice of his zanpakuto cut off the amorous train of thought that had nearly drawn his attention away from the fight.

"That's enough hakuda practice. I think we both know you've got me beat." Kinji drew his sword. "But I bet my zanpakuto can trump yours."

"Oh, really. I'll take that bet." she drew her blade, holding it upside down and in a guard position. This time Kinji took the opportunity to strike first. He deliberately slashed to her right side which made her block with her sword.

* * *

Kitsunebi took the opportunity to force her world into synchronization with Suzumebachi's. With Kage Shitsukoi their worlds had been close even without their physical forms being in contact. She wasn't entirely sure why, but with every other zanpakuto it required a clash of blades for the two swords to have a true conversation. They could shout at each other across the metaphysical distance but Kitsunebi needed much more than that. The in-between world was a world covered in flowers and presided over by a golden harvest moon. Kitsunebi wasn't happy with the lack of trees. But she didn't have time to care because Suzumebachi made a flashy entrance. An orb of golden light blurred into the gently lit world and nearly blinded the fox-woman. When the light dimmed a little more there was another woman, more accurately described as a 14 year old girl in black and gold silks, with two golden gauntlets sheathing her arms. Her two pigtails gave her an air of innocence but the twin stingers covering her middle fingers made it obvious that she was deadly.

"Greetings. There's something I need to show you."

* * *

"He's not very good with a sword." Cirruci said with a grimace. She had been hoping for more from her prospective boss. So far, she hadn't seen it.

"I'm not sure he's actually trying to win. Look at how he attacks. It's almost like he just wants to hit her sword." Dordonii speculated.

"This is just sad. Are you actually going to try fighting me?" Sui-Feng asked. _You can fight for real now. My conversation didn't take very long._ Kitsunebi said softly.

_** Took you long enough. It's embarrassing being this bad.**_

"If you insist!" He jumped back and held his zanpakuto out horizonatally. "Spark, Kitsunebi!" Bright blue flames coated the blade and threw plenty of light. Everyone else moved to shield their eyes from the sudden glare. Kinji held the sword out and flicked a small lash of fire toward the arrancars. The band of fire dissolved into smaller blue tongues of flame and came to rest in the air around them. He scraped some fire from his blade and held it cupped in his hand. Sui-Feng scrutinized the blue fire in an attempt to figure out why the fire wasn't producing either heat or smoke. Kinji smiled and flung the handful of fire at her. She flash stepped out of harm's way so Kinji tried again, this time he tried to hit her with dozens of small gouts of blue flame. She zig-zagged her way through the hail of flame and called on her own powers.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi." Her sword melded into a black and gold gauntlet and a golden stinger on her middle finger. Kinji decided to stop playing and threw a wave of fire out from his sword that covered 180 degrees. Despite that, Sui-Feng only had a few flickers of blue fire on her when she leaped over the wall. She slapped at one and found that they didn't burn either her or her clothes. It also refused to go out no matter how much she tried to smother it. Her eyes only left Kinji for a moment but when she looked back all she could see was darkness. She looked all around and saw only more of the same.

The five arrancar were similarly stranded in a sea of darkness but were taking more proactive measures. Mila-Rose charged a Cero in her hand and walked away from the flickers of fire surrounding the immediate area. As soon as she was half a dozen paces away all light vanished. She could still feel the dense orb of orange reiatsu in her hand but it was as if she had gone blind. She retraced her steps and made it back to the rest. "No good."

"Well that's great. We can't even see the fight!"

"You shouldn't shout everything, Apache. It makes you look weak."

"Shut up!" Apache took a swing at Sun-Sun who ducked it and tripped the blue haired woman."

"Settle down you two. Think for a moment about this power. He is able to choose what is and isn't seen. It's not as powerful as Lord Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, but still a very dangerous ability. For now we can just follow their movements with _pesquisa_." Dordonii said with a smile. He could see a path to the Espada opening up before him. He sent a pulse of his own reiatsu out around him and felt the others do the same. But the technique failed.

"Any more bright ideas, Tortellini?"

"It's Dordonii! Do I look like a bowl of pasta to you?"

"Who cares what your name is? Just shut up."Apache had turned her back on the Privaron Espada and walked over to Sun-Sun who was just at the edge of the lit area. "Can you see anything?"

"No. Even the infrared spectrum is blocked off outside the area. Inside I can see everything perfectly."

"Damn. This is so stupid. Why aren't we just leaving?"

"You mean besides the fact that we physically can't leave? We're in the middle of enemy territory. Do you want to try fighting that old man again?" Apache remembered the flames of Ryuujin Jakka well. She had felt so outclassed in that fight that she didn't even want to see the Captain Commander again.

* * *

Stalking something you couldn't see was not an easy task. Especially when you couldn't even see the terrain you were walking on. But Kinji had plenty of practice. Sui-Feng could fight in the dark as well as anyone, but she could usually rely on her ability to sense reiatsu. With both of these senses suddenly cut off, Kinji had a slight edge. But the more devastating advantage was the fire clinging to Sui-Feng's clothes. With that, Kinji would have a general idea of where she was at all times. That was why he hadn't truly activated Kitsunebi's power until he managed to tag her. Of course, if she managed to hit him the flames would vanish. He only had one chance to get it right and land the decisive blow. He was creeping around at the edge of Sui-Feng's visibility. His heart was hammering in his chest.

_Breathe. Take your time. Be certain of your choices. _Kinji did just that. He took 30 seconds to think about what he was about to do and steady his hands. His attack was nearly silent and very fast. Sui-Feng knew the moment Kinji inside the sphere of illumination caused by the flames. She caught the dull side of Kitsunebi's blade on her gauntlet and struck at his face with her free hand. A yellow rope of crackling energy snaked out of Kinji's sleeve and wrapped around Sui-Feng's free arm then tied itself to her torso, restraining the limb effectively. He put his back into his sword and pushed Sui-Feng to the ground. She pushed the blade aside and used both legs to lever her opponent over her. A swipe of her needle severed the low level binding spell and put her back on equal footing. Kinji made a last desperate swipe with a fire-coated sword and reignited the flames that had gone out. He beat a hasty retreat away from her and vanished back into the darkness.

_Definitely could have gone better. You underestimated how flexible her fighting style is._

_**Yeah, I figured that much out myself. And stop sounding so smug. It's not like you can do any better.**_

_Back in the day I-_ suddenly Kitsunebi's voice cut out.

_**Kit? Kitsunebi? What is it?**_

_Nothing. Just concentrate on the fight. If you win it might impress the arrancars enough to go along with your plan._

"That was the general idea." he said aloud. Then, realizing his mistake, he flesh stepped 20 feet to his right. Sound still carried normally even with his power active. He saturated the area with his reiatsu and that allowed him to block out sight and muddle any spiritual senses. But sound was completely out of his purview. He couldn't do anything about touch, taste, or smell either. If Sui-Feng had heard him and launched a kido attack, he wouldn't have seen it coming. But he could sense that she hadn't moved from her initial position. His flames would have told him if she had. So he prepared another attack, this time it would be a hakuda strike he had learned from Yamamoto several decades ago. Ikotsu, possibly the most powerful punching technique ever developed, was a move Kinji had never been able to use with full efficacy. But the dissonant force generated by the technique could be spread over a large area to reduce it's killing power and stun the intended target. It was the second blow of his strategic one-two-punch. First was Tanabata, a technique that blocked out all light, as if the world wished to more clearly view the stars. Second was Ikotsu, a punch capable of shattering the reishi structure of a target. Or, in this case, sending a shockwave through it to cause incapacitation.

Kinji switched his sword to his left hand and built up the necessary reiatsu to use the technique. When he was ready, he made his move. He moved so quickly that his target didn't even have a chance to react. The black fabric on her back was shredded just before Kinji's hand made contact. But the expected impact never came. Kinji's mystified expression only lasted a brief moment before slender and powerful arms wrapped around his neck and arm. Two strong legs locked themselves around his waist. A well muscled but pliable torso was pressed tightly against his back. The sweet smell of honeysuckles filled the air around him.

"You hung your clothes here as a decoy. Nice move." He was sensing the position of the flames to learn her location. But the flames had only been on her clothes. So she'd shed them, used an altered kido to create a body shaped frame to hang them on, and hidden nearby to ambush him.

"You have no idea how rarely I get compliments for my work." Sui-Feng whispered into his ear. She had the point of Suzumebachi tickling the side of his neck.

"This is a slight problem. I was hoping they would take me seriously if I beat you."

"Well, that was my plan. But after what you said I'm not feeling very generous."

"Then give me a minute to say something else. When you left you clothes on that scarecrow you had to strip near-naked. If you want everyone to see you in your underwear I can drop my sword and you can have your victory. Or..." Kinji teased. He had felt it when Sui-Feng's chest constricted in sudden stress.

"Or what?" she asked, emphasizing her dominant position with a slight shift of her weapon.

"Or I lend you my robes and hit you with a binding spell. That way it looks like I won and you don't have to go through the embarrassment of being seen with... is that a cat on your-?" She used Suzumebachi to force his jaw shut.

"Not. Another. Word." Long moments passed and Kinji found himself reveling in the sensations of close personal contact. Try as he might, he wasn't able to ignore her skin on his and the smell of her shampoo. He wanted to get a little distance for the sake of decency and to stop his head from spinning a myriad of possible scenarios. But he couldn't, not with her holding him at stinger-point. _Just lay back and enjoy it._

_**There's way too much enjoyment going on already. I don't know if you've noticed but every time we interact, something bad happens. I break Division 2, she ends up poisoning a fellow Captain every day for a month, I kick Renji in the balls, she strips herself half-naked and holds me hostage. This is not a stable, or safe, pattern of behavior.**_

_Prude._

**Oh, kiss my a-**

"I'll take door number 2." Sui-Feng said reluctantly

"Oh thank God." Kinji breathed without thinking.

"No. Thank Sui-Feng. I'm not that arrogant."

"Yes, thank you for your help. And for the wonderful memories. It isn't every day I get a beautiful woman undressing herself and wrapping herself around me." It wasn't the smartest thing to say. But instead of killing him on the spot for his teasing, Sui-Feng came to a personal realization. She wasn't uncomfortable with the situation. For some reason she found she didn't mind being so close to him. In fact, there were some aspects of it that were very pleasant. She shoved those soft thoughts out of her head and released Kinji from her hold.

"Alright. Now strip."

"Not even going to buy me dinner first?" Kinji joked. The next thing he knew her fist was doing it's best to break his nose.


	15. Bleach and Blue Hair

**A/N: Life is a funny kind of thing. Work seems to interfere at the oddest and most inconvenient times. And despite that, everything turns out fine. Sometimes. Please review.**

Chapter 15

Four months had passed since the arrancars decided to help Kinji. There were a few false starts with the alliance. Not the least of which was Kinji ending up in the Menos Forest by accident. But, eventually, Las Noches was restored to its former glory and rare minerals began flowing back to the Seireitei. In addition to the arrancars, the security force of Las Noches included a number of officers he managed to poach from the ranks of the Gotei 13. Yamamoto hadn't been happy about that one. But it had been necessary to maintain some semblance of order in a world populated by hollows.

But for all the hard-won successes Kinji was still disappointed in himself. The hogyoku, if it was anywhere, should have been hidden somewhere in Las Noches. He found the hidden compartment next to the marble throne almost immediately, but the gem inside it was a cheap fake. He handed the replica over to Sui-Feng, the appointed overseer of Central 46, when she arrived to collect his weekly report. "You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you?" she had asked him. He had gotten a little ahead of himself, he admitted privately. But, when he found the security systems beneath the palace, he realized where he had to look next. According to the footage of Aizen leaving for Karakura Town, the former Captain had taken the hogyoku with him to the battle.

"You certainly spend a lot of time watching the security cameras." Sun-Sun remarked from the doorway.

"I need to know what happened here while Aizen was ruling Hueco Mundo." Kinji replied automatically.

"You know, Szayelapporro Granz was the one who had those cameras installed. Be careful, or you might stumble across footage you were never meant to see." then fell silent and stood with her back to the wall outside the room, leaving Kinji to his tedious work. He grumbled at the perceived insult.

"Does she think I'm squeamish?" He moved on to the next set of recordings, these all had the initials SAG as the beginning of their file name. He clicked on the first file and sat back to watch.

"Experiment number 1." stated a voice from off screen. The first thing he saw was some kind of partially transformed arrancar strapped to a table with several bright lights highlighting the chest and head. "The further removal of a mask from an arrancar and it's effect on physiology and reiatsu." A pink haired arrancar with a mask fragment in the shape of glasses stepped in front of the camera. Kinji watched the first 5 minutes and shut the recording off. Then he stood up, walked calmly and slowly to the wastebasket in the corner of the room, and vomited his breakfast.

"Oh God, someone get me some bleach." Sun-Sun opened the door immediately on hearing the sounds of retching.

"That is the problem in wearing white clothes, they're so easy to stain." she said from a distance and holding her sleeve to her mouth and nose.

"That's not it. I'm going to pour it on my eyes and hope that lets me un-see the last five minutes." She tittered a little as Kinji clutched the waste-bucket to his chest and waited for his stomach to empty out. "First Mayuri and now this guy. Where the hell do people like that come from?!"

"Do you actually want to know the answer to that?"

"I'll get back to you on that." Kinji panted. He pulled a flask out of his still pristine white coat and took a pull from it. After swishing the liquor in his mouth and gargling he spat it into the bin. Then he walked the bin to the disposal chute and dropped the whole thing in. "I'm going to take a break, maybe get some things out of the greenhouse."

"You mean out of the distillery in the greenhouse." Sun-Sun corrected him.

"That's what I said." Kinji agreed.

"Don't forget to pick up the barrel of mead for your booty-call." Kinji froze and looked around to see if anyone had heard that.

"Don't even joke about that. If Sui-Feng heard you sat that she might do unpleasant things to my bits and pieces."

"You really are afraid of her, aren't you?" Sun-Sun said in slight amazement. "Why? You surpass her in strength. You're surrounded by powerful guards and extensive security."

"You underestimate your gender. You're able to accomplish things that defy logic, and that's an average woman. Sui-Feng is not average. She can do things that I don't even want to think about on a normal day. If she heard a rumor that she and I were...knocking boots, she could find and kill me if I was buried in a secret bunker under 20 feet of stone under the Menos Forest."

"Did you actually set that up? Or is that just an example?" came a voice from behind both of them. Kinji would have jumped, if he hadn't become accustomed to Sui-Feng appearing whenever he felt he could least afford it. Instead of panicking or running, he let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped a little.

"No I didn't set it up. It wouldn't do me any good, would it?"

"Oh it would work, you'd just have to spend the rest of eternity never leaving that bunker. Take one step out and I'd be there to stab you in the heart." she said with a strange satisfaction.

"How did you get in here?" Sun-Sun asked, and Kinji could tell her hand tightened on her weapon under her large sleeve.

"Through the front door." Sui-Feng replied. She brushed just past Kinji and started walking toward the greenhouse. Neither Kinji or Sun-Sun knew how she knew where it was, but he just motioned for the arrancar to go along with it.

"Is there something in the code of the Onmitsukido that prevents you from being polite?" Sun-Sun said poisonously. Kinji gave another sigh. Living with arrancars was a constant pressure cooker of egoism and half-psychotic relationships. In short, all of them were emotionally dysfunctional ego-maniacs and Kinji had to try to make it all work. With Aizen it was simple domination through fear. Kinji wasn't powerful enough for that so he had to be diplomatic. He had pictured killing all of them, individually and as a group, several dozen times. Thankfully his zanpakuto had talked him down, but likely only so her enjoyment of the situation could continue. The one thing that could be said for Kinji's new living arrangements was that it was never boring.

"Yes. What's your excuse?"

"That's enough." Kinji said sternly. Sui-Feng may not think of him as a superior on a personal level, but he did have authority over everything pertaining to soul reaper business in Las Noches. "For the sake of the peace, could you both pretend to be nice to each other?"

"Of course, Kotetsu-sama." Sui-Feng said sarcastically. "I'm so sorry for treating you like a disagreeable, half-evolved hollow bitch." Kinji couldn't see her face, but something told him that she was smiling.

"And I apologize for thinking that a flat-chested, murder-prostitute like yourself should be staked out in the Forest to be eaten by Gillians." Sun-Sun said with equal sarcasm and a pleasant smile.

_**This is all going to end badly, I just know it.**_

_ I know! It's going to be spectacular._ So much for support from his zanpakuto. Kinji just kept walking and waited for the two women to either catch up to him or kill each other. At this point he really didn't care which. But just before he found out which choice they would make, he heard the sound of breaking glass coming from the greenhouse. He flash stepped to the entrance and flung open the door. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks, both physically and mentally. He kept all his equipment for making alcohol in the greenhouse since that was where most of the fruit he grew was anyway. He also kept the casks of wine, whiskey, and mead there as well as a bottling system. Among all the stress and insanity that was his new existence he found peace as a craftsman. He could lock himself away for an hour or two and let the stress of the day vanish into some other world.

He also enjoyed drinking his creations and he kept a little on hand. Typically just a small bottle or a flask to drink with his dinner. But in the greenhouse he kept several dozen bottles of finished wine and whiskey. He should have realized that eventually someone would get curious and try some.

Mila-Rose and Apache were the curious ones, and they had opened nearly a dozen bottle of wine. At some point they must have gotten into a small fight because their clothes were torn and dyed red. What Kinji had heard was a bottle breaking when the duo collapsed on top of it. Now there were two, wine-soaked, heavily drunk, and mostly naked women on the floor of his greenhouse. He heard hysterical laughter in his head, Kitsunebi losing it at the sight of two arrancar drunk off their asses. Kinji didn't find it funny, or even amusing. He was simply stunned. In many ways the arrancars he had recruited were fully functioning and behaved in a very human manner. But, since they had no memories of their lives as humans, they were innocent to many things. Apparently, Aizen hadn't bothered to teach them about alcohol.

"You two are in so much trouble." was all he could say. Then Apache decided to roll onto her back and Kinji got a full view of her mostly disrobed body. For someone who insisted on dressing like a guy, she had a very nice figure. Two heartbeats later Kinji turned his back on the scene, and pulled a hankerchief out of his coat pocket and held it to his bleeding nose. If that fiasco wasn't bad enough he had both Sui-Feng and Sun-Sun staring at his bleeding nose and the two wine-besotted idiots laying on the ground.

_**Why does this bullshit happen to me? What have I ever done to give me such bad luck with women?**_

_ A very good question. Maybe you were a pervert in your previous life? Although, that's pretty hard to believe given what you're like now._

"Sun-Sun, could you take care of these two? I'll clean up once they're not around to make my nose bleed."

"As you wish, Kotetsu-sama." Sun-Sun said before dragging the two down the corridor by what was left of their clothes. That left Kinji alone with Sui-Feng.

"I'm beginning to think Aizen had some sick tendencies." Kinji said to stop her from giving him a look he couldn't identify.

"Like teacher like student?" Sui-Feng teased. She loved seeing him squirm, something that wasn't too unusual for her. But with Kinji there was just a little more fun in it. She liked to push him out of his comfort zone, to see how he would react to unexpected things.

"Don't even joke about that." Kinji's voice gained a harsh edge. He'd seen enough of Aizen in the security footage to get an idea of what he was really like. As manipulative as Aizen had proven himself to be, Kinji had the feeling that neither the incredibly kind Aizen he had known, nor this Machiavellian version was the whole truth. It was probably somewhere in the middle. That didn't excuse what he did though. "But after going through the records in the security floor, I figured out that Aizen created several hundred arrancars. Most of them were experimented on by his version of Mayuri Kurotsuchi and died. Then he- ah darn it! Shoo!" Kinji was interrupted by a small, bat-like hollow swooping in close to his head and perching on the ceiling . "Little pest." Kinji muttered.

"What was that?"

"Just one of the little animal-spirit hollows that exist in Hueco Mundo. This one seems to live in Las Noches and occasionally tries to scare me."

"Why not just kill it?"

"I don't kill things because they annoy me. If I did then there wouldn't be a 3rd Division in the Soul Society anymore. Besides, it hasn't actually done any harm. Your barrel is just over here." Kinji rolled a much smaller cask out of the corner of the distillery. There was a honey bee image burned into one side of it. "Give Lady Yoruichi my regards. Assuming any of this actually gets to her."

"I'm not drinking a single drop of this. The last time I did you broke my door." She strapped a harness to the barrel and carried it out of the greenhouse without much effort.

"You're welcome!" Kinji called after her.

"I'm not leaving just yet." came Sui-Feng's voice from the hallway. "I have to tell you about what's going on in the Seireitei right now." her voice had lost the disinterested quality it had when she was trying to be impersonal.

"I've got a table and chairs by the fruit trees. Let's go sit there, maybe have some tea."

"Maybe you should be sitting down for this." Sui-Feng said with something that resembled sympathy. When they were both seated and the tea was poured, Sui-Feng pulled a folded letter from inside her shihakusho.

Kinji recognized the handwriting as belonging to Jiro.

His hands shook slightly and he had to form his next question around a tongue that felt like lead in his mouth. "What is this?"

"A declaration of possession. A group whose identity is still under investigation has claimed responsibility for your brother's kidnapping. As proof they had him write the note himself and put a bloody fingerprint next to his name. We've already run the necessary tests, whoever sent this letter has your brother." Kinji stared into Sui-Feng's eyes, looking desperately for some sign this was a bad joke. No such luck. Tears built in the corners of his eyes but he blinked them away and opened the letter. The writing was Jiro's, no doubt about that. The text was more or less what you'd expect from that kind of coerced letter. A statement of captivity and a list of demands. It wasn't a long list. On the top of the list was for Kinji to surrender himself to them. Presumably they kidnapped Captain Hitsugaya and cloned him, because Hell would freeze over before Kinji surrendered.

From there it seemed like a standard list of demands for money and political gain. Except for one thing, they demanded to have the Gotei 13 remove any and all personnel from all four districts of Rukon 1. Kinji folded the letter back up and set it down on the table. The crack in his heart was threatening to split wider the longer he dwelt on what he had just read. He took his pain and shoved it to a dark corner of his mind where it wouldn't get in his way.

"Where did you find this?"

"It was found on the body of a soul reaper killed in North Rukon 1. His left arm and leg had been dissolved with acid."

"How is that guy not dead yet?" Kinji grumbled to himself. "Sooner or later I'm going to get sick of waiting and go kill the murder-happy prick myself."

"You can't without invading the Seireitei itself. And doing that would make you a traitor on the same scale as Aizen." Kinji flinched.

"Speaking of that unfortunate comparison, how is Central 46 coping with the idea of me cooperating with the arrancars?"

"Better than you'd expect. They haven't put a kill order on my desk yet. And only a few of them actually voted in favor of having you arrested and imprisoned."

"Amazing how the Ministers of Justice in the Seireitei change their tune when someone lines their pockets. The sudden flood of new workable materials should be kicking the markets into overdrive." Kinji pulled a piece of strange stone out of his coat. "Remarkable material. The lab techs say it has amazing tensile strength after being melted down. And the Forest of Menos is rich with it."

"Kurotsuchi promised to kill you for poaching half his officers. And how did you convince Akon to jump ship?"

"Better life expectancy and more funding for his research. The moment I said they could do the work they loved and not have to worry about their Captain's tendency to experiment on his subordinates I had scientists begging to be brought here. Akon was first in line. And the work they've done so far has been excellent. Just yesterday, Mika figured out how to use the Garganta to broadcast video signals. Designed a kido-based bracelet for just that purpose." Kinji held up his wrist to show one of the aforementioned devices. He snapped his fingers and a black tear appeared in midair. Through the opening they could see numerous soul reapers in white lab coats scurrying around a massive laboritory.

"What is it, Kotetsu-sama?" the former vice-president of the Research and Development Institute asked, carrying what looked to be a box full of monitors.

"Any news on that surveillance system?"

"Slow. There's a good reason Las Noches didn't have a set-up like this in the first place. We would need to set up a dozen relay towers outside the walls of Las Noches."

"And for that you need a long-term protection detail. Understood. For now just extend the range within the walls. I need to know if any of the surviving Espada try taking the throne before their swords are swinging at my head." he waved at the opening and it sealed over without a trace. "I can even open communication with the Seireitei from here. Good thing too. If I stayed out of contact for too long the elders of my clan would get restless. Not to mention Mother." He shuddered briefly. "How is Captain Abarai doing?" Sui-Feng treated Kinji to a sly smile.

"He's walking normally again. He's terrified of you, flinches whenever your sister mentions your name." Kinji felt a mixture of guilt and humor.

"I should go and apologize. From the way Isane is talking he might be part of the family soon."

"Renji Abarai having equal social standing with Byakuya Kuchiki?" Sui-Feng asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it. But love is like that sometimes. Reason comes in distant second to the urgings of the heart." A glazed look passed through Kinji's eyes for a moment then disappeared. "But for people like us I guess we don't really get a choice in the matter. Marriage for either of us would be discussed and politicized for a century."

"Speak for yourself. My clan had no elders to meddle with my personal life. If-" she sank a mountain of emphasis into that word, "-I decided to get married then I could pick anyone I wanted."

"Anyone, huh?" Kinji said suggestively, but with overtones of humor.

"Anyone I wanted." she corrected.

"And what, exactly, are you looking for? Just good breeding stock to carry on the name?" Sui-Feng made a scoffing noise at the idea.

_I'm starting to choke on the sexual tension in here. Seriously, you're baiting each other about marriage and children? _Kitsunebi said disgustedly. She's been putting up with this weird back and forth from Kinji and Sui-Feng for months.

"Don't lump me in with degenerates like you. If I find someone worth marrying I'll take them."

"Take them? So they don't get a say in the matter?" before Sui-Feng could reply an alarm went off, blaring sound and red light filled the room. Kinji snapped his fingers and the window to the laboratory reappeared. "Akon, what's going on?"

"An arrancar of Espada level has just entered Las Noches." the man replied. "We don't have all the cameras in place so we don't have visual ID. But the arrancar is just south of the main gate."

"Alright. I'll go deal with it. Send a message for all arrancars and soul reapers with combat experience to gather in the main hall." he closed the window again. "Sorry to cut this short, but I have a security breach to take care of."

"Have you ever fought an Espada?" Sui-Feng asked, her expression unreadable. Kinji shucked off his coat and left it on the chair. Under the coat was a white vest over a skin tight black fabric that covered about as much of Kinji's chest and arms as an ordinary T-shirt. Sui-Feng's eyes appraised the new attire, evaluating it's effectiveness as a fighting uniform. She could feel kido woven into the vest, likely a number of defensive spells to offset Kinji's disadvantage of not having an arrancar's _hierro_.

"Never had the chance. I was under house arrest during the War." Kinji made sure his sword was secure and set off at a quick walk.

"They're on another level from the Fracciones and Privaron Espada. Ichigo Kurosaki was the one who defeated Dordonii, the strongest of those under your command, and was utterly crushed by Espada number 4. From the report he wrote, Kurosaki took his best shot at the Espada in an unreleased state and he was unaffected." Kinji hadn't personally met the ryoka before, but from what he'd been told the boy seemed strong, even by the standards of a Captain.

"I'm more of a learn through experience student." he said with half a smile. "Besides, if he's stronger than me I can cheat."

They talked while heading out of the main palace, Sui-Feng relating the capabilities unique to the Espada. The Gran Rey Cero, a _hierro_ capable of stopping a Captain's sword, and severely dangerous abilities once their swords were released. She needn't have bothered. Kinji recognized the intruder from his description in the battle reports and the old security footage.

"You the soul reaper in charge?" the Espada asked with narrowed eyes and a frown. Kinji took a slight bow in response.

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Grimmjow Jaegerjacques." Kinji had the same habit of evaluating opponents by sight as Sui-Feng. From cursory evaluation of the blue-haired man Kinji knew he preferred close combat and would be vicious in a fight.

"What are you, some kind of Aizen wannabe?"

"Nothing so cliché'. I'm just a man trying to make his way in the world." he lied with a smile. "Care to join my enterprise? If not, then please get the hell off my front porch."

"You've got some balls. Keep talking like that and I'm going to tear them off!" Grimmjow growled at Kinji. "Soul reapers don't belong here. Pack up and leave. This is my place now."

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I had not idea this place belonged to whatever low ranking Espada happened to crawl out of their slightly too shallow graves."

"Kid, you have no idea who you're messing with." power made the air heavier. Grimmjow was stronger than an average Captain, a drop of sweat slid down the back of Kinji's neck.

"I know you, Number 6. You might be strong enough to beat up some human dressing up like a soul reaper, but I'm the real deal. You sure you want to pick a fight with me?"

"Real or fake, you soul reapers are nothing special. I'm gonna tear your head off and have it mounted on the walls of Las Noches." Kinji was getting tired of trading barbed words. It was clear that violence was inevitable, so Kinji decided to start it on his terms. Kinji held his sword horizontally in front of him and let his own power flow freely.

"Then try it pussycat. Bankai!"

* * *

"Remind me why we're dragging ourselves through this desert again?" the orange haired young man with a huge sword slung over his back kicked up a little sand in irritation. To his right were a mismatched group composed of a tan skinned woman with purple hair, a paler woman with orange hair and snowflake hairclips, a tattooed man with red hair and a Captain's haori, and a tall silver haired woman. The group had made it to Hueco Mundo via Urahara Kisuke's personal Garganta. Isane had asked why they couldn't simply use the one the Kotetsu clan had established, the wooden-clog wearing shopkeeper had laughed it off and said that the trip would be more fun this way.

"Because Mr Urahara asked us to deliver something to Las Noches and he said needed guards for the cargo." Orihime Inoue said. She hefted the box she had been given to carry in emphasis.

"Yeah, I know that's what he said but..." Ichigo trailed off. The lack of hollows in the desert of Hueco Mundo was conspicuous by itself, but there were also clear signs of regular patrols being made to exterminate hollows that lived there. Kisuke would probably have been aware of such things.

They were almost to the outer walls of Las Noches when the sand dune in front of them exploded upward in a geyser. A massive form began to take shape, two massive arms and a head crowned with something that looked like a sandcastle. "This guy's still here?" Ichigo said when he recognized the mask of the sand monster.

"You again?" rumbled the voice of Runuganga, the Guardian of the White Sands.


	16. Grimmjow and Guests

**A/N: Chapter 16 was fun to write, the personal dynamic in Bleach are so screwy it's easy to go overboard and just have fun. Although, Isane hasn't had much face time in the series so how she would interact with these stronger characters is tough to figure out. But I'll take a shot at it in the next chapter which will probably be posted in about 2 weeks. Thank you everyone who reviewed the story so far, now if the other 300 of you would give me some feedback I'd really appreciate it.**

**On another note, it's nice to know I wasn't the only one who thought certain arrancars got short-changed on screen time. Now if only the Bleach anime would get renewed for the Blood War Arc...**

Chapter 16

"Where's Rukia when we need her?" Ichigo complained.

"You know this guy?" Yoruichi Shihouin asked. Renji answered her instead.

"His name is Runuganga. He's made of sand, has multiple bodies, and can make tornadoes by swinging his arms."

"You forgot about the sand pits! If we aren't careful, he can drop us into the Menos Forest!" Ichigo pulled his zanpakuto from his back and got into a ready stance.

"You garbage bugs are lucky I've been instructed not to attack intruders on sight. Wait here while I check if you are expected or if Lord Kotetsu wishes to see you." The sand giant collapsed and covered everyone with a fine layer of white sand.

"Did that happen last time?" Isane asked. Her sword was halfway out of its scabbard.

"No. Last time he just attacked. Did he say "Lord Kotetsu"?" Renji asked

"Then I guess we just wait here." Yoruichi said. She opened up her pack and produced several loaves of bread.

"How long do you think it'll take for your brother to get Runuganga to let us through?" Renji adjusted the cloak Kisuke had lent him for the trip. Isane put her sword back and put a hand to her lips in consideration.

"Right away. Unless he's busy with something. He can be very single minded sometimes." Isane answered, recalling several instances from their childhood where he had been punished for ignoring their parents. "Very single-minded." she repeated for emphasis.

* * *

"Hold still you little shit!" Grimmjow roared as Kinji sidestepped another Cero. They had been fighting for almost two minutes and he still had no idea what Kinji's bankai was or what it did. The only differences he could see were the little flickers of blue fire on Kinji's hands and feet. And that didn't explain how nimble the soul reaper had become. He was able to change direction almost instantly and was able to avoid Grimmjow whenever he attacked. Even landing a simple punch had become irritatingly difficult.

"Just release your zanpakuto. I want to see what you can do." Kinji said, his tone and breathing even.

"You haven't even scratched me, and you think you can take me on in my _Resurrecion_ form?" Grimmjow lunged back in with a right hook, but just before the punch landed something iron hard slammed into his face and torso. The unseen blow took him off his feet and he bounced on the sand once before regaining his feet. He wiped away the trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth and squinted at Kinji. Something was very wrong and Grimmjow wanted to know what it was.

"I think if you don't step up your game, I'll crush you!" Kinji shouted just before he attacked. From Grimmjow's perspective, it looked like Kinji pantomimed gripping and swinging a sword. His hand remained empty but he charged all the same. It was only instinct that kept the Espada from losing a limb. Pantera cleared its sheath in an instant and blocked the slash aimed at his eyes. Despite the lack of visual confirmation, the feel of one sword clashing against another proved to Grimmjow that Kinji was indeed wielding a sword.

"So that's your Bankai? You can make your sword invisible?" Grimmjow got the breath knocked out of him by what felt like a pair of steel beams hitting him on both sides of his ribcage. Then a third beam crashed down onto his head and put him two feet down into the sand. Another hit from the invisible object tossed him 50 yards away from the soul reaper. If it wasn't for his _hierro_ Grimmjow would have suffered a few broken bones. He wiped more blood from his face and held his palm out toward Kinji. Bright blue light gathered in his palm and spilled from between his fingers.

"That idiot's going to do it again!?" Apache complained. Everyone had gathered in the area to watch the fight unfold.

"That man is more thick-skulled than most." Mila-Rose agreed. Sun-Sun didn't speak. Her purple eyes were slightly brighter than normal, a side effect of looking at the world in the infrared spectrum. She could see Kinji's tails from the heat haze that they produced. She could see the way he used them to maneuver himself away from Grimmjow's attacks. To push the Cero blasts just slightly off trajectory. Her knew boss wasn't Aizen, but he was a devious bastard.

"Gran Rey Cero!" the blue ball of energy closed the distance much faster than Kinji had expected. Instead of bouncing it away or moving himself, he brought in his three remaining tails to block the blast. Thunder boomed across the artificially lit white sands. Everyone who could covered their faces to shield their eyes from the sand the blast tossed their way. Grimmjow felt the blast hit something solid and grinned. He finally managed a solid hit. It was only when the dust cleared that his sense of satisfaction was replaced by confusion and apprehension. "What the hell...is that?" A small dome of silvery-white fur, blackened slightly, surrounded Kinji. He didn't have long to stare because a line of blue flame crawled up the fur in a swirling pattern and rendering it nearly invisible once again. Kinji was crouched with his arms crossed in front of him and a blade identical to his unreleased zanpakuto in his right hand. It too caught fire and vanished from sight."Answer me!"

"You wouldn't understand even if I did. But if you keep fighting at this level, you'll lose." Kinji decided it was his turn to take a shot. He held out his left hand and gathered the power he needed for the spell. "King who stands at the eastern gate. Sunlight passing through a line of spears. The armored destrier plunges into golden seas. Hado 41:Yoake Ransu!" A barrel sized beam of humming orange energy struck the sand behind Grimmjow and exploded into a radiant sphere of bright light. Grimmjow didn't find it difficult to dodge but the intense light practically blinded him on his left side. Kinji used that disadvantage and pressed his attack. His sword bit into Grimmjow's shoulder but not nearly as deep as it should have. He could have gone for the neck or chest but that might have killed or crippled the arrancar. He wanted to acquire a healthy fighter, not house a cripple or bury a corpse. The self-serving act of mercy cost him a kick to the stomach. Breath left his lungs for a moment and he used a tail to pull himself away from Grimmjow. He used the two free tails to fling a wave of sand over Grimmjow to keep his from chasing after. By that time the light had died away.

"Fine." Grimmjow growled from deep in his chest. " Grind, Pantera!" a small twister of sand rose toward the false sunlit sky in a double helix.

* * *

Next to the arrancars and soul reapers, the sand mushroomed up and formed a miniature version of Runuganga, the form he usually created in order to more easily interact with those in Las Noches. "Where is Lord Kotetsu?" the sand hollow asked in a much less imposing version of his normal booming voice.

"He's kind of busy right now." Aoki told the odd creature. "But if you want to interrupt him you're welcome to try." Runuganga looked along Aoki's line of sight and saw Kinji being sorely pressed to defend himself against Grimmjow's physical onslaught. In his released state Grimmjow was faster, stronger, and far more agile than he had been before. Kinji bore four lines of bright red blood on the side of his face as a testament to his failure to completely fend off the feline arrancar.

"I will wait." the hollow decided.

"Why do you need to talk to him?" Sun-Sun asked in her usual sharp politeness.

"There are visitors waiting some distance from the fortress. That orange haired soul reaper from before has come back along with other soul reapers and the human woman who was prisoner here before the last war."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. What does that fool think he's doing coming here?" Sui-Feng muttered, mostly to herself but loudly enough that everyone heard.

* * *

Every blow from Grimmjow was a sledgehammer that knocked away the tails that were meant to protect Kinji from harm. He had made the metallic fur turn to spikes as a deterrent, but Grimmjow's _hierro _Had proven itself more than up to the task of defending him. Every collision of the two fighters threw yellow sparks into the white sand as black claws plied themselves against invisible tails. For the first time in the fight Kinji had to use his sword for defense and was left without time to counterattack.

"Can't you do any better than this, soul reaper?!" He clawed two tails out of his way with one swipe and followed up with a kick. It caught Kinji in the side of the face and sent him spinning across the sands. Stars danced in front of his eyes when he came to a stop.

"You're right." he blinked away the haze of red that covered the left side of his vision. "Parlor tricks won't beat you. I need to go on the attack!" A wave of blue flame rolled out from Kinji, dispelling the illusion that hid his tails and weapon. For the first time since the fight started, Grimmjow could feel immense heat coming from those azure flames. But in addition to the tails and the katana, he saw a priestly white shirt with long wide sleeves covering Kinji's chest and arms. And handing down from his neck on a red cord was a white mask. It was shaped like a fox with a blue heptagram above and between the eye holes and a swirling flame-like pattern along the left side of the muzzle. The mask rested at the end of its cord just below Kinji's chest. And for the first time he could clearly see that the tails were not some external weapon but actual limbs that were connected to Kinji's back.

"What the hell are you? You're not a soul reaper. You're not an arrancar like us." Grimmjow said loudly enough for Kinji to hear it clearly. And he wasn't the only one who had sudden doubts upon seeing the revealed bankai. Dordonii looked at the mask with some surprise.

"That is a hollow mask. Can any of you feel it? It's very faint but there is hollow reiatsu coming off that mask." If anyone else had an opinion they kept it to themselves. But a quick glance back at his subordinates let Kinji know that the appearance of his manifested zanpakuto had effected some kind of change in his troops. He though he saw approval in the eyes of the arrancar, apprehension in the eyes of the soul reaper, and Sui-Feng... he couldn't tell what she was thinking. He shoved the long term away from his mind and focused on the very lethal enemy in front of him. His head was starting to pound from maintaining his bankai for so long. Now that he had broken the illusion he could use his fire as fire. It would burn Grimmjow when he hit him with it. And it offered the only way for him to breach that suit of flexible armor Grimmjow's sword release had wrapped him in. And it would still burn the hollow even if he wasn't fast or accurate enough to score direct hits. Kinji tossed the katana over his shoulder and it exploded into fragments of blue fire and reformed his fourth tail. Then he reached back and gripped the fur of another tail. When he pulled his hand away he was holding a length of chain in his hand.

"Tsumibukai tetsu." Kinji told Grimmjow with a slight smile. He twirled the end of the chain which sported a wicked looking spike made from overlapping serrated sheets of metal. "I hope you've said goodbye to that ridiculous hair." Despite his confident expression Kinji was resorting to somewhat desperate tactics. His bankai was very powerful and adaptable, but it came with a number of drawbacks. The first was that his mental state determined his ability to use it. If he wasn't focused enough it wouldn't even activate. The second was that it made using flash step impossible. Even using the tails to increase his mobility he couldn't keep up with Grimmjow's speed. So he had to resort to using the weapon most suited to dealing with someone fast. If it didn't work, he'd have to make much riskier moves.

He hurled the chain with considerable force right at Grimmjow's face. He jerked his head aside, not quite prepared for the sudden jump in speed. He felt the heat coming from the links of the chain even through his armored skin. He tried to move backwards but the chain was suddenly there against his back. He looked behind him on instinct and saw the spike buried in the sand to his right. When he looked back there were loops of chain speeding at him to entangle his limbs and burn him. He could already feel the heat through his armor where the chain pressed against his back. Instead of using sonido or trying to twist away from the chains he pointed his right elbow at the source of his current problems. Five green spikes slipped out of the folds of his armor and shot toward the soul reaper. Kinji reacted on instinct and pulled the tails in to block. It wasn't even close. If it hadn't been for the contingency kido he had placed in the vest the attack would have killed him. A barrier of white light appeared as the spikes struck and canceled out most of their momentum. Four of the darts dropped to the sand. One of the darts had enough power to drive itself an inch into his left shoulder.

"Just a flesh wound. I hope it was worth it." Kinji's grip on the chains remained strong despite the pain, Grimmjow had both arms restrained by chains and pinned close to his body. The metal was nearly glowing with trapped heat. Grimmjow could feel the beginnings of a mild burn to his skin beginning. About half of his blue mane of hair had been burned away and the stink of it was noticeable even by the spectators more than 80 yards away. Grimmjow wasn't the most intelligent of arrancars but when it came to fighting he was as cunning as anyone. He used his legs to pull hard on the chain and it snapped taut. Kinji strained with the effort of keeping his enemy from simply dragging him along. Then the arrancar reversed his direction and the chain went loose around him. He slipped his arms free and pulled the last couple of loops from around his chest and waist. As soon as the chain lost tension Kinji dropped his end and planted his feet. He extended one hand, palm out, and executed the next part of his plan. "Hado 59:Reito Kyuryu!" A jet of ice cold water took the cat-like hollow full in the chest, sending up a gout of steam as his armor was brought to a much lower temperature. It also obscured his vision and Kinji's next attack came at him from the right instead of the front. Metal pierced his armor and the force of the blow drove him to the ground. When the steam and sand settled or drifted away Grimmjow got a good look at the weapon. It was a spear, three blades protruded from the end of it. The first was straight but the other two formed a kind of crescent or half circle that framed the main blade. At the other end of the spear was Kinji, bleeding from his shoulder, from the cuts on his face, from the eye that Grimmjow had damaged with his kick, but still operating at a high level of strength. But that wasn't what Grimmjow focused on. It was Kinji's eyes, those eyes showed triumph, dominance, and a self-satisfaction that nearly sent Grimmjow into a rage. But a detail caught in Grimmjow's mind even through the haze of red that was beginning to overtake his vision. Kinji's silver eyes were tinted with a light crimson around the edges. Grimmjow's thrashing tore the wound open wider.

"I'm gonna kill you! I'll rip you in half!" Grimmjow writhed under the spear but he couldn't move and he couldn't push the spear out of him with Kinji still bearing down on it. Kinji responded to the threats by pointing his finger just barely to the side of Grimmjow's head and speaking a few words.

"Hado 4: Byakurai." White lightening burned a hole in the sand so close to Grimmjow's head that he had a first degree burn on his cheek. "Enough." Kinji forced whatever authority he could into his voice and the harshness of it broke through the red fog covering his enemy's mind. Both of them were panting with exertion and looked at each other without blinking. "You..." Kinji said more quietly, "...would make an excellent wrecking ball." Grimmjow's gaze faltered in confusion. Kinji was positively giddy from picturing what it would be like to drop Grimmjow into the middle of the Tenshin compound and let him do what he did best. His smile was slightly deranged when he pulled the spear free. The pain and shock made Grimmjow pass out. Blood flowed freely from the wound but Kinji grabbed Grimmjow's arm and hauled him onto his back.

He let his bankai dissipate into flickers of blue flame then reform into his zanpakuto. He flash stepped back to the gathering and called for the medics to take Grimmjow away. His own wounds were minute compared to the large hole in the arrancar's torso leaking his lifeblood so he ordered all of the medics to work on the arrancar first and put a pair of shackles onto him to restrain his powers. He would probably be angry when he woke up.

"That was very impressive _Jefe._" Dordonii congratulated him. "There is someone who needs to speak with you." the arrancar stood aside and Runuganga slid across the sand toward him.

"Lord Kotetsu, there are several soul reapers waiting on the perimeter requesting to be let in."

"What do they look like?"

"One of them has orange hair and a kitchen knife on his back, another has red hair and is wearing a Captain's coat-"

"Yes, let them in. In fact, I would be very appreciative if you brought them here quickly and safely. I would be so thankful that I will forget that a former Espada slipped your watch and ruined my white clothes."

"Thank you, Lord Kotetsu." the sand creature collapsed and reappeared near Ichigo's troupe. "I have been instructed to escort you to the Palace." He held his enormous hands out for the group to walk onto. After a brief discussion they all stepped onto the giant's palm. What happened next scared them senseless but only lasted for a few moments. They were transported through the sand at a speed that brought them inside the dome in less than 20 seconds. When Runuganga brought them back up to the surface they experienced some problems.

"Ichigo, I think I'm going to be sick." Orihime said through her fingers.

"Stop being such a baby. I'm perfectly fine!" Renji said, though five seconds later he had to catch himself before he tipped over sideways. Isane was on her back in the sand and watching all the clouds spin. Of the entire group, only Yoruichi was still on her feet and in her right mind.

"Kids." she said with a pitying sigh. Kinji was sitting on the steps just outside the main building and padding his face with a piece of gauze he'd taken from a medical pouch. The cuts from Grimmjow's claws had scored him pretty deeply but hadn't quite gone all the way through. And it didn't want to stop bleeding. A nice sheet of red covered the left side of his face and stained the formerly pristine white vest. "Nice welcoming service."

"Thanks. I had to kick his ass a couple dozen times but he came around. This new arrancar, I'm not so sure about. I think he wants to kill me." Kinji deadpanned while mopping the blood off of his face and neck. Then he saw Isane as she saw up and tried to stand. He froze in sudden panic. Las Noches may have been under his command but he didn't trust anyone there not to take a shot at him. Hell, the Tres Bestias(Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apache) had taken him on in a 3 on 1 fight. He took them down fast with a series of "cheap shots". Kinji tried to explain that fair and unfair didn't have any meaning in real battle but Apache still yelled at him for something like 15 minutes. That was his second day in charge. After about a week both Dordonii and Cirucci had challenged him. He nearly killed Dordonii out of pure frustration, the wound had left a permanent scar across the arrancar's chest that went from his left shoulder to the right side of his hip. Cirucci backed off after that. She had been ranked lower than Dordonii when they were members of the Espada and figured she wouldn't do any better.

"Who?" Yooruichi asked. Kinji forced the fear and panic into a far corner of his mind and covered it with false humor.

"Grimmjow. He stormed in here like he owned the place so I decided to set him straight. I don't think he appreciated my point." Kinji looked to the group in expectation. If Hueco Mundo had crickets he would have heard them chirping.

"That pun was worse than Rukia's drawings." Ichigo said.

"I don't know what this Rukia is, but it sounds annoying." Kinji shot back. He winced when he tried to smile. "I know you just got here Isane, but could you help me out? All my medics are trying to keep the idiot who did this to me alive." Isane nodded and took the medical pack off her shoulder. Kinji sighed in relief when the green glow of his sister's healing kido washed over him. His wounds sealed over in under a minute and the swelling that should have accompanied the fracture near his eye-socket simply never appeared. Isane was astonished but she wrote it off as a strange effect due to the high reishi concentration in the air.

"Lady Yoruichi!" a blur sped past the siblings, nearly bowling them both over. "If I knew you were coming I would have made him clean this hovel first." Sui-Feng said, practically exerting a visible field of fan-girl energy. Yrouichi patted her former subordinate's head fondly.

"Relax Sui-Feng. I'm just here delivering something for Kisuke." Sui-Feng's enthusiastic face darkened at the mention of Urahara's name. Meanwhile, Kinji was sitting on the steps in shock.

"Hovel?" he asked with genuine hurt and surprise in his voice. Las Noches had been almost completely restored to its former glory, not an easy task considering it was nearly as large as the Seireitei itself. Sure he preferred the wood and screen style of architecture to the stone corridors he had here, but by no means was his new home shabby or a hovel. He had put months of back breaking work into making it a nice place. "You take that back!" Kinji shouted to Sui-Feng.

"Excuse me? Did you want me to lie? This place is not worthy of Lady Yoruichi."

"Keep insulting my new home and I might decide to take it personally!" Kinji marched up to the shorter woman and glared down at her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think someone who had stooped to living with arrancars had any pride to injure." Kinji's eyes lit up with white fire. All the indecision and self-recrimination that had been piling up in him finally exceeded his considerable tolerance. But before he could act on his violent thoughts Yoruichi stepped between them.

"So this is the guy who's been getting you all heated up." She gave Kinji a wink and a subtle signal to stop. He did, partially because he knew that nothing good could come out of a fight, but mostly because he respected his counterpart from the Shihouin clan enough to not punch through her to get to Sui-Feng. "I gotta say, you're aiming high. But you need to find ways to express your feelings without breaking his bones."

"Lady Youichi, you misunderstand-"

"So, Kinji. You have a decent bath in this place?"

"It's right over there." He pointed to a smaller green pillar not far from where they stood. "I'll get the hot spring ready too, if my guests would like to take an hour to relax before heading back home."

"We'd all be very grateful if you did. In fact, why don't you join us. I'm sure Sui-Feng would change her tune if you did."

"Lady Yorui-" the Shihouin princess grabbed the smaller woman and flash stepped toward the baths.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Ichigo asked without any pretense of delicacy.

"I really wish I knew." Kinji said with traces of violent anger still in his voice.

* * *

"He really went all out on this place." Renji was laying back and letting the hot water ease the tension in his back and neck. Paperwork always managed to tie his muscles in knots.

"It looks like an outdoor hotspring alright. But where the hell did he get all this water from?"

"Underground spring. Aizen ran a pipe system down below the Menos Forest and used to to provide plumbing for Las Noches." Kinji said as he slid into the bath himself. Both Renji and Ichigo noted the scar in the middle of his chest.

"So why did you put the Men's side of the bath up her and the Women's side down there?" Renji asked with more politeness than he used for anyone but the other Captains.

"Privacy."

"Isn't that usually the other way around?"

"Arrancars don't draw boundaries the same way we do. I had to essentially threaten them to make sure they kept their clothes on when in public." Kinji said, grimacing.

"This still isn't making sense. Aren't most of the arrancars women?" Renji asked. Kinji shot him a derisive look reserved for the criminally insane.

"Seeing naked women on a regular basis isn't good for a man's mental health. It nearly drove me up a wall, not to mention the fact that I hate cold showers." He rubbed his forehead to relieve the headache remembering those first couple of weeks caused him. "Add that frustration to the generally uncooperative nature of the arrancars and clearing the place of ordinary hollows and I nearly lost it. Thank God for alcohol." he slid further into the water and shuddered slightly. He rarely had time to indulge in good old-fashioned relaxation.

"I think you're a little messed up in the head." Ichigo commented.

"Maybe." Kinji admitted. "But I'm still functioning so I try not to think about it."

* * *

"He's an arrogant, lying, self-satisfied ego-maniac." Sui-Feng raged.

"And you're still trying to cover up your emotions with anger. Normal guys don't get under your skin like this. You like him." Yoruichi said with a sly smile. "And he likes you, I can tell."

"That's not true, he's just more annoying than most men."

"Really? Then why did you volunteer to be liason between Las Noches and the Seireitei?"

"I-I just didn't want to endanger the plan by sending someone who might get themselves killed or manipulated." Yoruichi slid closer to her former subordinate and put her in a playful headlock.

"Stop being so stubborn! If you fall in love with someone then don't let them go. Trust me, it's worth it, even when he drives you nuts." Sui-Feng stopped struggling and went limp in Yoruichi's arms.

"I can't trust him. He's lying to me, lying to everyone. I can feel it." Sui-Feng said, feeling better after finally giving voice to her doubts.

"Have you asked him to tell you?" her mentor asked, still holding onto the younger woman.

"No."

"Try it. He might tell you, even if he didn't plan on it. Love makes us do crazy things."

"Like abandoning the Soul Society to help some scruffy scientist run from Central 46." Yoruichi took the shot in stride. She had accepted her guilt in abandoning those she was responsible for after returning from her self-imposed exile around three years ago.

"Yes. Kind of like that. Give him a chance. He might surprise you." Yoruichi gripped Sui-Feng under her arms and pulled her out of the bath.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help you help him make the right choice." Yoruichi said with a sneaky grin on her face.

"What does that mean?" Sui-Feng was beginning to feel slightly distressed. She held Yoruichi Shihouin in the highest regard, she would follow the woman to hell and back. But sometimes, rarely, only once in a blue moon, she found her mentor putting her in embarrassing and compromising situations. Like the trip to the beach. She'd forced Sui-Feng to wear a sparkling pink abomination of a swimsuit. It had looked like something a five year old would wear if they were color blind.

"You'll see. Now come on!" they both vanished from the spring, leaving a very confused Orihime and Isane to ponder what they had just seen.

"What do you think they were talking about?" the redhead asked.

"I'm not sure." Isane said, unconvincingly. She didn't want to "So, are you really OK with being back here? With everything that happened?"

"Yeah, I mean, things weren't that bad." Orihime said, waving her hands defensively.

"I thought there were arrancars here who tried to kill you after Aizen ordered your capture."

"Only a couple of them. And they weren't really all that bad." Orihime heard a tray being set on the ground a few feet behind her.

"Compliments of Lord Kotet-" Orihime turned around and saw the tray of hot-spring rolls sitting on the stone floor. Just above that was a face she hadn't seen in two years. The face had a mask fragment over one eye and black pigtails. Her one visible eye was wide in surprise. Seconds passed with the two women saying nothing and not moving an inch. It wasn't until Isane grabbed one of the rolls that they reacted.

"Loly-chan?"


	17. Lord and Ladies

**A/N: Well it seems I'm going on break for a little while. The new semester is starting up soon and I've got applications to doctoral programs to work on. Hopefully this tides you all over. Hopefully I can sneak some writing in here and there in the next couple of weeks.**

Chapter 17

The arrancar known as Loly Aivirrne wasn't moving because she couldn't figure out what to do. She desperately wanted to lash out at the orange haired woman sitting in the hot-spring. But Lord Kotetsu had forbidden any unauthorized fighting and an assault on a guest would be viewed as intolerable. Kinji had a habit of carrying out punishments personally and making them particularly flashy. When Asguiaro Ebern had tried to assassinate him, Kinji had burned him to death over the course of 3 hours. Attendance was mandatory for everyone except the Research Division. During those 3 hours they had all learned something very important: Don't cross Kinji Kotetsu unless it was worth your life.

"Do you need anything else?" she ground out through clenched teeth. "No? Good!" she started to storm off but Orihime's words stopped her.

"I'm glad you're OK." Loly looked back, expecting to see a mocking expression but all she saw was honest kindness and concern. She walked away confused and angry.

* * *

In the Men's bath Menoly had just finished laying out the hot-spring rolls for Ichigo, Renji, and Kinji. "Please, let me know if you need anything else." Menoly bowed and left the room.

"Does it seem weird being so relaxed around all these arrancars? I mean, Nel is one thing. But most of these guys tried to kill us a couple years ago." Ichigo said.

"They're not hard to understand. Survive a few challenges, make an example of someone, treat them well, and things worked out fine." Kinji said.

"But you don't even have your sword with you right now. Aren't you worried?"

"Constantly. But at least I know where I stand with them. It's not by much, but I do prefer being stabbed in the face to being stabbed in the back." his hand subconsciously reached up to the scar on his chest. "Incidentally, I'm sorry about cracking your walnuts Renji. I should have given you fair warning before you started dating my sister. I can be a little protective."

"Walnuts? What's he talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing. And I think you mean "overprotective"." Renji picked up a roll and took a bite.

"You grabbed my little sister's ass. Both of my sisters, at the same time."

"It was an accident!" Renji insisted for the 50th time since Rangiku had snapped that picture.

"Yeah, and I'm sure Lin just happened to trip over a rock and shove her sword through my torso. Whether or not you set up a plan for it to happen, you took advantage. Admit it."

"Would you please just let it go!" Renji complained.

"Fine. Consider your record clean." Kinji said with a wave of his hand.

"Uh guys. Who're they?" Ichigo asked, pointing behind Kinji toward the entrance to the bath house. Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apache were walking down the corridor toward the three men. Kinji was relieved to see that they were still wearing clothes. He'd taken great pains to explain that it wasn't proper for men and women to bathe together. And then he went to take a cold shower. For about half an hour.

"Oh dammit, what now?"

"Now? This isn't a new problem. You promised you'd help us find Master Halibel." Apache said. "Or are you going back on your word, like Aizen?" Kinji's eye twitched at the comparison.

"And I've turned Hueco Mundo upside down to look for her."

"But if you've looked everywhere, then why is it Grimmjow evaded you these past four months?" Sun-Sun reminded him. "And I don't need to remind you how much less comfortable your life would be if we stopped cooperating."

"You know, you're right. I'm going to go out into the desert right now, wearing nothing but this towel and search an entire world. Yeah, why don't you three just go have a nice relaxing bath downstairs while I single-handedly solve everyone's problems."

"Alright.

"Sure."

"Sounds good. Just don't take too long." The three of walked back out the door and toward the women's bath. Kinji walked them walk out then threw the empty plate from the rolls at the far wall.

"I was being sarcastic you evil, self-serving-!" Words failed him and he growled at the retreating forms.

"Uh, you OK?" Ichigo asked.

"No one who lives here is OK!" Kinji shouted before storming out of the bath himself with the towel wrapped tightly around his waist.. "We're all out of our damn minds and eventually we'll kill each other!" We stomped off cursing and shouting at anything that caught his attention.

"And you wanna marry into that family?" Ichigo asked Renji in amazement.

"Shut up."

* * *

"You really have to do stuff like that? It doesn't gross you out?"

"Well, it did at first. But after a hundred years you get used to the idea of handling someone's internal organs. But I try not to bring it up, especially with people I know. How do you think Renji would react if I told him I literally held his heart in my hands?"

"And he doesn't know?"

"He thinks Captain Unohana was the one who healed him after Captain Kuchiki nearly killed him during Rukia's execution." Isane shifted uncomfortably in the bath. "Please don't tell him."

"Oh don't worry. I can keep secrets. Like when Ichigo told me he was tricked by Mr. Urahara into shouting cheesy superhero lines."

_**I think I've made a horrible mistake.**_ Isane thought to herself.

_Keep it down. I'm trying to enjoy the quiet in here for once._ Itegumo muttered sleepily. Isane jumped a little at his deep, booming voice. Her zanpakuto was mostly content to live and let live. He didn't typically talk to her of his own volition.

"-and then there was the time he saw Yoruichi naked-"

"That's...very interesting." Isane said to placate the orange haired woman. She rarely interacted with someone so bubbly and cheerful. Division 4 was typically a very serious place, unless Shunsui Kyoraku happened to stop by and started harassing the nurses. She didn't quite know how to talk with someone like that.

"Hey, scoot over Giraffe. The rest of us need a place to sit too." Apache said before slipping into the pool of steaming water between the human and soul reaper. Isane blinked at the boldness of the arrancar woman.

"Giraffe?" Isane repeated dejectedly and slipped a little further into the hot water.

"That's Apache for you, insults and name calling before she even knows who you are." Mila Rose half-apologized as she got into the water herself on Isane's left side.

"You're not much better Mila Rose. You should treat Lord Kotetsu's sister with more deference." Sun-Sun slid slowly into the water, taking the time to appreciate the soothing warmth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Sun-Sun." she gave a curt little nod to Isane.

"It's nice to meet you all." she said politely. After chewing over her next question she sat up a little straighter. "How are things going here?"

"It's a complete mess." Apache said immediately. "But... it's not bad I guess. Better than when Aizen was running the show. But it still pisses me off to have soul reapers telling me what to do."

"Is that really such a bad thing? I mean, aren't you all part soul reaper?" Isane pressed.

"We started out as hollows. And no matter what similarities we have with soul reapers that difference will never disappear. Arrancars should rule arrancars, and soul reapers should leave us be." Mila-Rose said bluntly. Sun-Sun made a huffing noise, loud enough for everyone's attention to shift to her.

"Oversimplifying things as usual I see. What we really want is Master Halibel to take the throne of Las Noches. As fair as your brother tries to be, he will never understand us. But we don't just want any arrancar on the throne either. If Grimmjow tried to declare himself king we would probably leave." Sun-Sun explained further. Orihime had picked up another roll and was nibbling at it, hoping the three arrancars didn't remember who she was.

"Leave? We'd kill his psychotic ass!" Apache said with complete confidence. Mila Rose shook her head in exhaustion.

"Apache, you idiot. Even though he can't compare to Master he could still kill us. He's still an Espada and we're not."

"What?!"

"As much as I hate to agree with either of you, she has a point. He is much stronger than us, today proved that. I'm surprised Lord Kotetsu beat him, if he hadn't weakened Grimmjow's armor then he probably would have lost."

"What the hell are you talking about? When did he do that?"

"He used the chains to heat the armor then used kido to rapidly cool it. He did that to make it brittle and created a smokescreen so he could use an attack suited to piercing a defense. He wasn't stronger than Grimmjow, he just used what he had better. But if he fought someone stronger than Grimmjow, like Ulquiorra or Master Halibel, the difference would be too great for him to deal with."

"You mean Tia Halibel, one of the Espadas who fought over the Fake Karakura Town?" Isane asked.

"Yeah. According to our current leader you never found her body." Isane shivered despite the warm water. Her Captain had told her about that formidable woman and warned her to avoid Halibel if she ever met the Espada. Unohana had saved the arrancar's life, arguably committing treason in the process, and allowed her to flee from the battlefield. She'd confided the fact to Isane along with a stern warning not to mention a word of it. To anyone. Ever.

"That's true. And if Captain Kurotsuchi had taken her then Kinji would have made sure to free her along with you."

"Because he's such an altruist." Sun-Sun scoffed. Isane sank lower into the water at the scorn in the other woman's voice. She figured that Kinji would have to do things, bad things, to keep a fortress full of arrancars in line, but she hadn't had to confront the reality of it until now.

"Hey, wait a second. Aren't you the _princessa_ that Aizen brought her before the War?" Mila-Rose. Orihime, now the object of attention, sank down into the bath up to her nose and blew bubbles.

* * *

"Straight jackets. That has to work. And metal jaw restraints." Kinji muttered, still angry with the 3 former fracciones for interrupting a comfortable bath. He was fully clothed, he wasn't so cracked that he would walk into the desert of Hueco Mundo with nothing on him but a towel. Granted he was halfway out the door before he went back to get his zanpakuto.

_You need a vacation_ Kitsunebi said with concern.

_**Ha!**_

_No, I'm very serious. You haven't seen the inside of your head recently. It isn't good._

_**You've done nothing but laugh yourself silly since we got here.**_

_Heh, yeah. But like every night of blackout drunken revelry, eventually you have to deal with the property damage._

_**That seems really specific.**_

_Nevermind. The point is you need time to recover from all of this. Find a quiet place, do a little meditation and training. Maybe bring a keg._

_**Stop teasing me. Who in God's name would I leave in charge of that rabies-infested asylum? I'd only have 1 arrancar left when I got back. If it wasn't for me they would blow the place up and beat each other to death with the rubble.**_

_…..you're raving again. _All Kitsunebi got in response was an audible growl. She growled right back at him.

_**Fine. I'll figure it out.**_ Kinji gave in. He looked behind him and found that his anger had caused reiatsu to leak from him. Tiny glass crystals had formed in his footprints as a result of the heat encasing his body. He reigned the power back in and forced himself into a less tense state. The stress and pressure was all still there but it was no longer dominating his mind. His scouts had reported a set of crude dwellings and some old ruins to the west of Las Noches. He decided to go take a look at the place on his own, if only to buy himself some peace and quiet. It would normally be a 3 day walk but if he burned a hundred flash steps he could be there in a couple hours. It would burn up a good deal of stamina but he wasn't expecting a difficult fight when he got there so he decided it would be a good stretch of his legs.

As the desert flew past him he put more effort into the high-speed movement techniques than was strictly necessary. Sand puffed up where his feet touched the ground. A mingled blur of white and black skipped along the surface of the desert like a stone along the surface of a lake. The exertion felt good, felt cleansing in a way that a death-match never could. Some of the pressure eased and tension he hadn't even known he held eased from his neck and shoulders. A healthy sweat began to build on his skin and was evaporated by the cool air. Before too long the ruins showed on the horizon. It was a mess of old masonry construction that looked ancient and worn. It had the look of an old castle if some giant hand slammed into the top half and knocked it to one side. The stone was a dirty white and smoothed by decades of windblown sand. Kinji counted off his hundred and fifth flash step then stopped.

His breathing was deep and heavy but not hurried. There was a vague energy surrounding it that felt heavier and more dense than normal reiatsu. But instead of pressing down on him it surrounded everything like a kind of energized mist. It prickled his exposed skin and flowed slowly around him. The soul reaper reached his hand out to run his hand through the invisible current and he realized he had his zanpakuto in his hand. He didn't remember drawing it but when it made contact with the energy a pulse of power run up his arm and everything below his right shoulder went numb.

"What the hell is this place?" he said without thinking. A sudden shriek spun him around and he was just in time to slash at an insectoid maw that gaped in front of him. The sword sent a pair of hard shelled mandibles flying but didn't stop the head behind it. A blunt impact collapsed Kinji's chest and forced the air from his lungs. The lack of air robbed most of the strength from his offhand punch. The hard white carapace held against his fist but the creature gave another loud shriek and tossed him away. When Kinji hit the ground he managed to get a good look at the hollow. It was something like a mix of a spider and scorpion that had grown to the size of an elephant. It emitted no reiatsu at all, either that or Kinji couldn't feel it through the haze around the ruins.

"Leave!" the spider-thing screeched. Kinji blinked. It could talk?

"You can talk?" Instead of answering the question the creature began charging a cero. It was big. "Oh shit!" He dove behind a pile of rocks before everything behind him was reduced to smoking ash. Except for the white stones which seemed relatively unharmed. Curious. "Any chance we can talk this out?" he shouted from his covered position. Arrancars and most higher level hollows retained some semblance of intelligence and ego. And this creature had proven itself capable of speech. It only stood to reason that it could be reasoned with to some degree. Crimson energy washed over the pile of rocks he sheltered behind leaving him untouched. The two ceros it had fired were superior to that of an ordinary Menos. Not on the level of an Espada like Grimmjow, but certainly on the level of Cirruci. Was this thing a Vasto Lorde?

"Stay away! Leave this place!"

"I'd be happy to leave! Provided you don't try to kill me as soon as I come out." He flipped through his repertoire of kido spells and selected the one most likely to down the surprising creature. As powerful as it was he didn't think anything less than a 70's level hado could seriously hurt it. He only knew two kido that powerful, Hado 92 which was not practical for the situation, and Bakudo 87 which would cost him some blood.

There was a reason that most soul reapers learned the same kind of spells. The ones that they taught at the Soul Academy were the easiest to manage, didn't require any physical components, and were effective against most hollows. But to become an expert you had to have at least 20 different kido spells under your belt. To be a master you had to be capable of a 90's level kido and create your own variation of an existing kido spell. Kinji had 30 spells he could use and Bakudo 87 was his best binding spell. But if he used it without incantation it would only have a third of its normal power. Kinji peeked around his shelter to gauge his opponent more accurately.

"Could we please settle this like gentlemen?" he yelled toward the hollow.

"I'm a woman!" came the sibilant reply.

"Of course you are." Kinji said to himself. "Then can we settle this like honorable... beings?" instead of a verbal reply he heard the sound of another cero being charged. The red energy slammed against the rock pile a third time. A number of the rocks were tossed aside by the tide of power making Kinji's shield much smaller. He decided not to risk a fourth cero and started chanting the spell. "Claws of the beast, lines of the heart conjoin the stars, the Sanzu River runs uphill. Roads of iron, cages of flesh, waters of life. Shatter the walls and sink to the earth, rise from the grave and bind the moon." Kinji drew his sword and cut the back of his left hand and blood swelled along the injury, "Bakudo 87: Ketsueki Seigen!" He felt a brief flash of pain as more blood was drawn from his veins. It hovered above his arm in a ball and shone with a deep golden power. He heard a fifth cero begin charging so he broke cover and aimed the ball at the spider-thing. It shot forward so quickly that there was as pop as the sound barrier was broken. It scattered the energy of the half-formed cero then slammed into the hollow and vanished. The beast screeched and charged Kinji. It scuttled toward him at startling speed, the six legs moved through the debris and sand as if it were flat ground. Kinji held out his hand and waited until it was almost on top of him. It's tail rose to strike but it locked in place a few feet in front of Kinji's closed fist.

"What?" the creature gasped out. Kinji snapped his fingers and small lines of red-gold energy broke through the bony plates and anchored into the ground.

"Ketsueki Seigen, Blood Restriction. It's a spell that places some of my blood into your body then uses it to bind your limbs from the inside. Nasty spell." He tore a strip of cloth from his shirt and bound the cut on his hand. "Now, we're going to have a conversation. I'm going to ask questions and you're going to give me answers."

* * *

Isane was a natural manager. That natural ability had been honed to perfection by decades of overseeing medical procedures and running a Division almost single-handed. But when the arrancars demanded that she be the one to give orders while Kinji was out, she didn't take it well.

"I can't be in charge. I mean, I'm just a Lieutenant."

"Look, your psycho of a brother is the one running things. But he freaked out and ran off without putting someone in charge. So, you get to be head honcho until he gets back. Or until one of us kills you and takes the throne." Cirrucci said as she manhandled the soul reaper towards the throne room. Apache had Isane's other arm and helped Cirrcucci transport Isane.

"Kills me?" the Kotetsu noble asked in astonishment.

"Oh quit whining. None of us are going to kill you. If we did your brother would come back and spit-roast whoever did it." Apache said.

"Renji! A little help here!" She shouted back toward the changing rooms.

"Isane?" Renji burst out into the hallway with nothing but his zanpakuto and fudoshi. All three women turned around and saw Renji standing there in his underwear. Isane's face went beet red. Cirrcuci threw him a wink and Apache called him an idiot.

"I think it can wait until you have your pants on." Isane said, averting her eyes. The two arrancars went back to dragging Isane toward the throne of Las Noches. Renji watched the three of them go silently and several shades redder than he had been a few moments ago.

"Smooth." Ichigo said from back in the changing room.

"Shut up." the Captain grumbled before going back into the locker room and put his clothes on.

* * *

"So, you're the interrim boss?" Akon asked the woman sitting on the throne.

"They won't let me say no." Isane said to the head scientist. Apache and Cirrcuci had taken up posts on either side of the white marble throne and glared at everyone who requested an audience like Isane's personal enforcers. She'd been there for nearly eight hours and the two shorter women hadn't let her leave.

"Whatever. Could you tell Lord Kotetsu that Grimmjow is alive, healing, and under restraint?"

"Sure." Isane said and wrote it down on a notepad she kept in her med sachel.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Lieutenant?" the man asked, vaguely amused by Isane's predicament.

"Convince them I won't try to jump out the bathroom window." Isane said in all seriousness. She had been sitting there for quite some time. Renji had brought her tea and something to eat several hours before but neither of the arrancar women had allowed her to leave the throne and visit the … other throne.

"She can't leave Hueco Mundo on her own. We would have to open the Garganta in order for anyone to leave here. Unless one of you esteemed arrancars decide to open the way for her." Akon said.

"Fine. Can't stand much more whining anyway." Apache said with a yawn. It was getting late in the evening.

"Thanks Akon." Isane said as she was finally allowed to get up and stretch her legs. Her relief was short lived though. The intruder alarm went off, blaring noise and dim red light assailed everyone's senses.

"Another one? So soon?" Akon wondered aloud.

"Akon! Back to your post and get the med-team ready." Isane commanded. Akon was halfway back to the lab before he realized it was Isane who had ordered him to his post. "Apache, go wake Sun-Sun and Mila Rose, make sure they're ready for combat. Cirruci, tell Renji and Ichigo Kurosaki what's going on and have them meet me here." both arrancars jumped to obey Isane without completely understanding why they did so. It took maybe 3 minutes for everyone to be in position. But the excitement was short-lived. When the "intruder" came into view it became obvious that there was no immediate danger. Kinji was pulling some kind of improvised sled across the sands of Las Noches.

"Hey everyone! Please, for the love of everything good and holy, one of you get me some water!" Kinji shouted in between grunts of strained exertion. The sled was constructed primarily of kido, but what he was transporting possessed considerable weight. He'd exhausted himself to the point of collapse in order to get back to the domed fortress before it blew up. He was surprised, pleasantly so, to see it still in one piece. His head was pounding savagely and his vision seemed a little blurry. He was probably dehydrated.

"Go get some water." Isane said to Aoki. He had come out, along with many other soul reapers in order to see what was going on. Aoki instead went out to Kinji immediately carrying a canteen.

"Thanks." Kinji rasped before gulping down the offered water.

"We're living in a desert. I don't know why everyone else isn't carrying one." It wasn't quite an insult, but it made Kinji watch other other man more carefully. When his thirst felt less pressing he put the cap on and handed it back. "Brought back a souvenir?"

"More like an unwilling guest." Kinji snapped his finger to open a window to the laboratories. "Akon, I'm sending you a subject for testing. Nothing painful or invasive. Make sure you have at least 5 soul reapers who can bind powerful hollows. This one is a powerful Adjuchas."

"Understood." Akon said and began giving orders. Kinji closed the window and proceeded to drag the bound creature into the palace.

"So who got everyone into position when the alarm went off?" Kinji asked Aoki.

"Isane did. I don't know how but she got the arrancars to listen to her."

"Really..." The thoughtful look in Kinji's eyes made Aoki duck for cover as quickly as possible. The last time he'd seen that look he had been appointed leader of the patrol unit outside Las Noches.


	18. Flavors of Fear

**A/N: Okay, this was a long while between updates. I made this chapter a little longer by way of apology. Say hello to a few new characters... and one old one. I plan on the next chapter being a fun one so if this one wasn't to your taste be patient.**

Chapter 18

A shock of kinetic energy ran all the way back up to his shoulders. Kinji hadn't really respected Ichigo Kurosaki in the past. He treated the orange haired young man with all the decorum due a guest in his house. But he had believed the boy to have benefited from luck in his battles. His own battle with Grimmjow had done nothing but reinforce that prejudice. But he was coming to appreciate that Ichigo was both powerful and skilled with the blade. He had asked to spar with both Ichigo and Renji the morning after he came back from the ruins. Kitsunebi had all but demanded it of him. As his sword scraped against the massive blade of Zangetsu he could feel his zanpakuto's spirit become more distant as she reached out to Ichigo's sword.

* * *

The world Kitsunebi entered into was perhaps the strangest she had yet seen. She stood on some kind of glass surface. To her left and right were expanses of the same material. She had no frame of reference to understand that these were modern buildings turned on their side. She looked around this lifeless and sterile dimension looking for the spirit that inhabited the place. It seemed the only aspect of the shared world that she had caused was the dark sky and stars. Even the large moon was not present. She flexed her spiritual muscles. A pulse of energy washed out along the surface of the skyscrapers tinges with small motes of blue light.

"What are you doing here?" a deep male voice sounded behind her. She turned around expecting that she would see a zanpakuto spirit. What she saw narrowed her eyes and she took up a defensive posture. A man in a flowing black cloak and shades stood before her. His dark hair and beard looked unkempt but not slovenly.

"You are not a zanpakuto." Kitsunebi stated with absolute certainty.

"And you are?" was the simple reply. Kitsunebi flinched and changed the subject.

"Are you Ichigo Kurosaki's power?" she asked.

"I am." the man replied succinctly. She nodded and relaxed her posture. She produced the sake bottle and a small cup.

"Will you hear what I have to say?" she poured some of the jug's contents into the cup and walked toward the man. The being nodded and held out his hand. Kitsunebi smiled and handed him the cup. The memories she was imparting would win another ally to her side. And for what was coming they needed every ally they could gather.

* * *

Kinji shoved the giant cleaver of a sword away. Ichigo wasn't lacking in strength or tactics, but he was not nearly as strong as Kinji initially believed. He could sense the vast power within the boy but his attacks were far weaker than he expected given the resevoir of reiatsu he possessed. As he blocked another strike he realized the flaw. He was just leaking energy at random and not focusing it during his attacks the way most soul reapers did. The newly minted Lord of Hueco Mundo reeled at the wastefulness of it all. In terms of sheer energy Ichigo was his superior. But the difference in skill was enough to make Kinji the superior fighter.

"Show me your Bankai." Kinji said suddenly after repelling a series of strikes and kicking Ichigo's feet from under him.

"Huh?" Ichigo's confusion showed plainly on his face.

"Your. Bankai." Kinji said more slowly. "Please show it to me. There's something I want to verify."

"Look I don't just use my Bankai at every opportunity."Ichigo said. Kinji heard Renji failing to suppress a chuckle. "Oh shut up. It's not like you're the picture of restraint." Kinji sheathed his sword and sighed.

"I've heard it described before but I was hoping to see it for myself. You do realize you're practically a living legend? To see the sword that struck down Aizen is a rare privilege." Kinji was hoping a little flattery would cajole the young man.

"I guess I could show you." Ichigo looked around him and said "you might want to cover your eyes." Kinji just waved for him to proceed. "OK. Bankai!" A small twister of sand rocketed into the sky where Ichigo had been standing. Kinji suddenly understood why Ichigo asked him to cover his eyes. The sand got everywhere, eyes, mouth, and nose. He didn't look very dignified when the dust settled, rubbing his eyes and spitting sand. But seeing Ichigo's Bankai made it more than worth the discomfort.

A gleaming black katana with a cross-shaped guard and a modified shihakusho met his eyes. His suspicions had been correct after all. Ichigo's Bankai was a cheat. It allowed the young man to utilize his natural power in a much more precise and devastating manner. But... "I thought your mask was part of your bankai?"

"Not really, I just never use it unless I'm already using my Bankai." And Kinji was back to having more questions than answers again. The mask that appeared when he used his own Bankai troubled him. Kitsunebi had told him to ignore it but he found that to be an increasingly difficult mental exercise.

"Thank you. I appreciate your generosity." Kinji said. "Now, if I can prevail on you one more time." Kinji had his noble facade in place. He found it easier to negotiate with that pretense rather than his real personality. "Could I please see your hollowfication?" The question was greeted by silence. Ichigo began looking at him curiously. Kinji knew he had overstepped himself there. But before he could apologize he noticed the other orange haired human guest running toward them. Orihime Inoue was running out from the main hall with something small and black chasing her.

"Orihime? What's wrong?" Ichigo called out. She didn't respond but the closer she got the better they could see what was happening. The small bat-like hollow was swopping down on Orihime's head repeatedly. She kept trying to ward it off with her arms but it clearly wasn't taking no for an answer. When she got close enough they could see blood from the cuts on her arms. "Orihime!" he flash stepped over to where she was. Kinji and Renji did as well but Ichigo beat them there by half a second. Plenty of time for him to cut one of the wings off the small creature that had haunted the throne room of Las Noches since Kinji arrived. The tiny thing didn't make a sound as it tumbled into the sands. "Are you Ok?" Her cuts were minor and she nodded but enclosed herself in her healing field. The scarlet lines vanished in mere moments. When she was healed she turned and looked at the tiny creature responsible. It was still flapping weakly on the ground and squeaking weakly. Kinji looked down at it and felt a pang of pity. He had grown fond of the annoying little creature over time.

"Miss Inoue?" Kinji asked. Orihime blinked at the formal tone. "Could you please heal him?" Kinji pointed to the bat. "I know it's a strange request but-" he didn't even finish before the orange light of her healing field covered the black-furred rodent with white horns. The wing reformed after a few seconds and Kinji started a binding spell. He jerked back in surprise when the bat exploded into gray ash. "What the hell?" he turned to look at the human woman accusingly. She looked to be at a loss too. Her shield expanded suddenly, large enough to fit a sizable human. The ash swirled and a dim green light began to shine through the thick cloud.

"Orihime, what's happening?" Ichigo asked, just as confused as everyone else. But when the green light got brighter both Ichigo and Orihime were reminded of something they had pushed to the very back of their minds where only the darkest of nightmares reside.

"I think...it's him." the woman said in a whisper. Kinji's head whipped toward her. He knew that emotion, that barrenness in her voice. That was dread. A fear so basic and absolute that the flight or fight response crumbled into a panic-ridden paralysis.

"Stop! Stop the healing process!" Kinji shouted even though he was only a few feet away. Orihime didn't react. Ichigo had a bewildered and distant look on his face that told him the substitute soul reaper wouldn't be any help. "Renji! Help me!" Kinji drew his sword and drove it point down into the orange shield. The energy that rebounded back tossed him 10 feet into the air. "Break the damn thing!" he shouted to the Captain of Division 5. Renji drew his sword and swung, but it was too late. The ash coalesced into a human shape and the barrier shattered outward and threw everyone back a few paces. Kinji could now feel the monstrous reiatsu that the barrier had kept contained.

The air grew thick and heavy. It felt as if he was standing on the ocean floor with the weight of all that water pressing in on him. Kinji knew without any hint of a doubt that this creature was beyond him. Any attempt to fight with it would result in his obliteration. The emotional side of his brain screamed at him to run or hide. The rational side told him these efforts would be futile. Some strange third portion of his brain thought this all to be humorous. He had been so pre-occupied with the enemies back in the Soul Society that he had almost written off the idea of something in Hueco Mundo killing him. He had this master plan to use Hueco Mundo and now history would read like Hueco Mundo using him to rebuild itself.

Kinji saw that his assessment of the creature as "human shaped" was only partially correct. A pair of massive leathery black wings stretched out behind it's back and a long whip-like tail covered in black hair. Everything below it's waist and past it's elbow was covered in more black hair. The hole in the center of it's chest told Kinji that it was a hollow but he had never seen anything like it before. The power it exuded was familiar though. The ruins had emanated the same kind of dense pseudo-reiatsu. Although, it hadn't felt nearly so menacing.

The eyes opened and Kinji flinched when the golden irises swept over him. But they only locked on him for a moment. They settled on Orihime and stayed there. Kinji was equal parts relieved and insulted.

"What did you do, girl?" There was an unsettling lack of emotion in the creature's voice. Now that Kinji had the chance he was able to examine the bat-hollow's face. It bore a resemblance to Espada number 4, Ulquiorra Schiffer. Kinji shuddered. If this was the 4th most powerful of the former Espadas then Kinji was at a loss as to how any of the Captains survived the battle over Fake Karakura Town. "Why did you restore me?" Ichigo placed himself between Orihime and the mutated Espada with his black blade held defensively.

"Ulquiorra Schiffer!" Kinji said with all the courage he could muster. The hollow turned to the Lord of Hueco Mundo and made a cursory examination of him.

"Do not interrupt me, trash." The insult stung Kinji. He didn't think he had any pride left after coming to Hueco Mundo and working with the arrancars. But he did. He had the same pride all soul reapers held deep in their hearts. Pride in the edge of their blade, in the quality of their martial skills. And, rightly or wrongly, Ulquiorra had disparaged those things. An irrational anger warmed his chest and face. But for the moment his rational mind still held sway.

"I am the ruler of Las Noches." Kinji pressed the Espada, knowing that he couldn't win, but he might be able to buy the time his guests and his sister would need to escape this monster. The monster glared at him condescendingly.

"The ruler of Las Noches? Absurd. Trash should know its place" the demonic bat turned to face him more squarely. The claws on his hands looked supernaturally sharp.

"Please don't!" Orihime said, pushing her way past Ichigo and grabbing Ulquiorra's wrist. To Kinji's utter amazement Ulquiorra let her hold him back. When the hollow turned his awful gaze on her she stammered a little but she still spoke. "He's t-the one who asked me t-to heal you." The eyes went back to Kinji.

"Why would you do such a thing?"

"Had I known what healing a defenseless creature would bring about, I'm not sure I would make the same choice. But you were dying and it wasn't necessary."

"What you say makes no sense. It is in the nature of the weak to die."

"It is in the nature of all things to die." Kinji shot back disgustedly. "And it is our prerogative to preserve life, both ours and those under our care." The Espada's head tilted slightly, as if Kinji had suddenly started speaking some foreign language.

"Are you defective? Is there some injury to your mind, some madness in you? Or is this something that comes from that heart you humans and soul reapers seem so proud of?" Kinji honestly considered the question, insulting as it was.

"It isn't something that came from me. But it is truth. Can't you tell?"

"There is no truth." The demonic bat said flatly. And from that most telling statement Kinji comprehended the depth of this being's evil. Ulquiorra Schiffer believed in nothing. He acknowledged only what he could see and destroyed what he couldn't comprehend. To him things like love, fidelity, meaning. These things were delusions. Power was real because it could be seen. Death was real because it could be observed. Kindness was nothing more than the actions of a defective animal.

How deeply wounded did a soul have to be in order see the world that way? It was pity and not fear that made Kinji lower his sword. Renji was on guard, standing in a ready stance just like Kurosaki. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead, mirroring Kinji's own reaction to this otherworldly power on display in front of them. But for all the primal, survival oriented fear that he was feeling he knew that this monster wouldn't hurt the woman holding his wrist."I'm going to ask you something more practical. What do you intend to do now that you're...restored?" Ulquiorra didn't answer him. "Normally I'd ask if you wanted to join me but you seem to have your own priorities. If you leave me and mine in peace I will do the same for you." he blinked and realized that the creature wasn't actually wearing any clothes. "You're of course welcome to anything you owned during the war. None of the personal quarters were damaged during the initial invasion or the secondary one." Kinji's roundabout prompting was noted by the razor sharp mind of the Espada.

"I assume by Ichigo Kurosaki's continued existence that Lord Aizen was defeated." Ulquiorra said. Kinji's feet moved into a better position for a flash step if he needed to dodge an attack. "Which means I have no purpose in remaining here." The giant black wings spread out and he took off into the air. His departure left 4 surprised and confused people coughing up desert sand.

"Well at least he didn't try to kill any of us." Renji said to break the silence. Kinji couldn't argue with that. But the game he was playing just had another piece step onto the board and he had no idea whose side it would end up on. They went back into the main hall to enjoy a light breakfast. Kinji just couldn't help but play scenarios of devastation through his mind when considering the prospect of Ulquiorra siding against him. A burst of static cut his contemplation short. The sonido had been astoundingly fast, fast enough that Kinji hadn't noticed the reiatsu signature approaching. Ulquiorra Schiffer had apparently made up his mind.

He appeared exactly as he had two years ago when Aizen still ruled Las Noches. Pale skin, dark hair, utterly emotionless green eyes, and a modified version of the arrancar uniform. His power had diminished to become comparable to that of Grimmjow's. "I will not take orders from trash like you." he said abruptly. "But this is the most convenient place for me to reside. So I will abide by the terms you suggested. We will not interfere with each other." Kinji suddenly relaxed muscles he hadn't know he was clenching.

"Thank God." he muttered under his breath.

"I may be above mere soul reapers, but I think you assessment overestimates my abilities." Ulquiorra had apparently heard him. But Kinji couldn't tell if the arrancar was being serious or messing with him. He resolved that he would never gamble when this stone-faced arrancar was involved.

"Better than underestimating you. Now, I'm going to be playing ambassador to Soul Society for the next week or so. Could I ask you not to murder any of the other arrancars while I'm gone? But I have no problem with you kicking the crap out of them if they attack you."

"Which arrancars survived?" Kinji rattled off the list of who was alive, missing, and who had taken his side. "I see. So you have one Espada and numerous Fracciones under your command. A paltry fighting force. Yet you still intend to leave on a diplomatic mission?"

"Here." Kinji pulled a small book from his coat pocket and tossed it to Ulquiorra. "That should bring you up to speed on the situation." He speed read the book in under five minutes and asked Kinji an array of questions before leaving Kinji alone. When he was sure no one else would interrupt him he took out the letter he had received that morning. It was a formal invitation for him to meet with the elders and leaders of the Feng family. That wasn't too unusual to Kinji who had been forced to meet with the heads of many noble families in the last 4 months. Except that the meeting was supposed to be at the Feng compound. The Feng family didn't do this sort of thing. To receive and invite from that most secretive of families was both an honor and troubling. He could understand Sui-Feng coming to check on him regularly out of duty. But no one, not even the Shihouin, got invited to the Feng compound.

There was a sweet scent that lightly tickled his nose when he unfolded the letter. The same honeysuckle scent he had come to associate with Sui-Feng. The writing too bore hints as to the author. The lines of the characters were spare and sharp. Very efficient, very precise. Except for the writing of his name which was more heavily inked. A sign that someone hesitated when drawing the characters. Would that be because the characters of his name were simply unfamiliar or because-?

"Lord Kotetsu!" the line of thought slipped away. "The Adjuchas you brought in. It's breaking our bindings!" one of Akon's assistants ran into the throne room screaming. Kinji quickly refolded the letter and stuffed it back into his coat pocket. He followed the lab assistant to one of the numerous prison cells in the tunnels beneath Las Noches. It was white stone and blue tile like much of the buildings, but the strings of chains attached to the walls and wrapped tightly around an insectoid creature with shiny white plates covering it's body. It thrashed and pulled at the chains which ripped them from the walls or snapped the links themselves. It's high pitched and raspy voice echoed through the chamber. Kinji was forced to twist and dodge to avoid the flying pieces of metal.

"The worlds will burn and crumble! The King will die! Long live the King!" The creature shouted. Kinji was force to drop to the floor as the wickedly tipped scorpion tail pulled free of it's chains and swung at his head. The deadly appendage swung wildly around the room forcing the lab rats to duck for cover. Kinji put a stop to that nonsense with a punch to the creature's head. Of course, he had to deal with split knuckles from punching an armor plated monster. And from the feel of things a fractured wrist to go along with the bleeding splits in his skin.

"Dammit." he growled in discomfort. "Mind telling me why it was necessary for me to come down here and personally punch her lights out? You eggheads have sedatives. Next time use them." his right hand was limp and sending pulses of pain all the way up to his neck. He turned to stalk out of the room but the creature's voice stopped him.

"The Temple." the voice wheezed out. The punch had stunned the creature but not rendered it unconscious.

"And did you really have to go ballistic? I know being imprisoned isn't ideal but you did try to kill me." Kinji told her.

"You have to let me go." the creature said.

"I get it. You're a guardian. But I can't let you go just yet. Akon!" Kinji said loudly. The head scientist walked in from the adjacent room carrying a very sturdy looking syringe. Kinji had a very strained look on his face when he looked back at the Adjuchas. He took up the syringe and looked for a gap in the armor plating. "I need everyone to clear the room." When no one moved Kinji raised his voice. "Get the hell out!" Half a dozen soul reapers in white lab coats scrambled to leave the room, except for Akon who took his time walking out. When the room was emptied Kinji went to the control panel and turned off the audio feed for the security. The Adjuchas just watched him patiently as he paced around the room. She thought he was just looking for a weak spot in her armor but when he pulled up a chair in front of her she readjusted her opinion. "I'm sorry. About the punch to the head, I mean. I haven't been making use of my best judgment recently."

"You have to let me go." repeated the hissing voice.

"In good time. But I have need of you for a little longer."

"Then get on with it and let me go."

"I am getting on with it. I need someone to talk to, someone who had no connection to me at all. And someone like you who is committed to a single purpose would be ideal."

"You came to the ruins I safeguard and kidnapped me to be your confidant? Are you insane?"

"I'm not sure. Let me know what you think when I'm done." Kinji turned the syringe over in his hands thinking over what he was about to do. "I'm trying to prevent a full scale war in the Soul Society between a group of nobles and the Royal Family. This wouldn't be a problem except the rebels have gotten a hold of two powerful relics." he saw a subtle shift take place in the creature's demeanor. "You know about them don't you?"

"They were taken from the ruins before I existed."

"What are they? Where did they come from?" Kinji pressed, allowing himself a glimmer of hope.

"I don't know. It isn't my responsibility. It was Barragan's responsibility to recover the Three." Kinji felt his heart skip a beat.

"Barragan the former King of Hueco Mundo?"

"Yes."

"Who gave you these responsibilities?" Kinji asked, his mind seizing on the idea of Barragan answering to someone other than Aizen. He always thought that the description of Barragan's power seemed a little odd. A power that cannot be stopped or contained? It was a power that shouldn't exist, rationally speaking. In nature there is no such thing as an absolute, even the strongest power should have drawbacks and limitations. Barragan's abilities had seemed above that natural restriction.

"How don't you know this? You live with the descendents of the Soul King. You should have a complete record of the deeds of your ruler." The bottom dropped out of his stomach. For the first time since this century long screw up started he truly felt out of his depth. He was a soul reaper, a member of a noble family, and a guy who probably enjoyed drinking a little too much. A moment of self-pity followed those thoughts but he stomped on it as hard as he could. He buried it under memories of the people he loved and images of the things he most wanted to protect. Isane, Kiyone, Haru. He saw each of them clearly in his head. And a flash of something else. The edge of a grin and something gold.

"It seems that I've been intentionally kept in the dark." Kinji said bitterly. "Now for the more difficult questions. Is there anything you wouldn't do to fulfill your responsibility?"

"I would give my life or the lives of others to fulfill my purpose. But I would not do anything that would make fulfilling my purpose meaningless."

"Meaning what?" Kinji asked.

"If you have to kill your friend to stop your friend from being killed then there is no point. If I had to turn a beautiful and fertile world into a barren wasteland full of monsters in order to prevent someone else from using the ruins of Ai Aomai to do the same thing I would negate the underlying reason for my responsibility." Kinji was doubly surprised. This Adjuchas was not only very coherent but it had a startlingly strong moral compass. Hollows, even those more highly evolved, were typically very damaged personalities. Thus the nihilism of Ulquiorra and the rage of Grimmjow. This was a hollow that exhibited loyalty so extreme that it would engage in self-sacrifice. And loyalty to the Soul King, if it was being truthful.

"Did you ever have doubts? Did you ever just want to run away?" A heavy silence settled between them. He had given voice to the thing that haunts all people with a cause and all people who live on faith. That nearly damning "what if". The illustration of the eternal struggle between pragmatic self-interest and noble idealism.

"Of course I did." It hissed after a long while. Kinji primed the syringe, making absolutely sure nothing would go wrong that he could control.

"Any regrets?" he asked.

"Never."

"That's exactly what I needed to hear. I needed to know you understood why I'm about to do this." He flash stepped to the side of it's head and jammed the needle through the softer tissue between the overlapping plates of bone. The metal tube emptied itself in and instant which was just fast enough to allow Kinji to retreat from the poisonous barb that slammed into the stone where his head had been. The Adjuchas had been playing possum until Kinji came into range of it's scorpion-like tail. The Lord of Hueco Mundo retreated out of range before a second strike had a chance to land. He didn't have to bother. The monster went rigid and still as the injection worked it's way into her nervous system. Then the pain started.

There was no hollow in Hueco Mundo unaccustomed to pain, least of all those who evolved from hollow to Menos Grande. And in some ways this pain reminded the ancient Adjuchas of that first transformation of her flesh. There was a heat building in her core and a chill in her extremities. The cold became a painful numbness and a vague sense of pressure. She would have screamed if she wasn't mostly paralyzed.

It was a much more impressive show from the outside. An aura of red light covered the white plates and flared in places as the hulking body crumpled inward. The Adjuchas form grew brighter and smaller over a span of 45 seconds. At the end it looked like a 6 foot tall egg of bright scarlet energy. Then the light began to take on a more human shape. Slender arms and legs followed by a torso of more than modest proportions. A curtain of long hair framed a striking and angular face fell to the floor around her and partially preserved her modesty. Her skin was a dusky brown unmarred by scars or the colorful markings that sometimes appeared on the skin of arrancars. Her mask fragment was a ridged plate running down the left side of her face. The plate left her eye exposed but covered the left side of her face from the middle of her cheek bone to the back of her right ear. The bottom of of the fragments didn't quite come down to her shoulders. A straight sword with a hilt wrapped in red lay next to her, partially covered by her long black hair.

"How do you feel?" Kinji asked the newly born arrancar.

"Calm." a pleasant contralto with a Spanish accent reached Kinji's ears. "I'm not hungry." she said, marveling at the sudden change. Her eyes were unfocussed and looking at the floor but flicked up to Kinji when he took his coat off his shoulders and handed it to her. Kinji had averted his eyes, doing his best to be polite in this unconventional situation. She took the coat and wrapped it around herself like a shroud.

"As promised you're free to go whenever you want." Kinji said. "But in recompense for the wrongs I have done you I offer you my hospitality and a promise of help if you ever find you need it." It was the best he could do. He wanted her to remain in Las Noches as one of his new Espadas. From what he could feel she seemed to be Grimmjow's equal in raw power. But he knew that simply wasn't in the cards. Still, if his gift outweighed the insult he had given her then he may have won himself a powerful ally.

He called for the Tres Bestias to take her to get some clothes. The three arrived, arguing amongst each other as usual. The new arrancar allowed herself to be lead out of the room and toward the supply warehouse where the arrancar uniforms were stored. But before she left she turned back to look Kinji in the eyes. Her dark red irises met the light gray of Kinji's and he saw gratitude there.

"My name is Catalina Ixchel. You have my thanks for helping me remember it. But if you try to take me captive again or invade the sacred grounds I will kill you." and with that ultimatum she went to find herself some clothes.

"Akon!" Kinji called. The scientist entered the room with a smile on his usually dour face. "I take it the readings are promising?"

"Very. We have 12 more doses left. Do you want me to start human trials?"

"Not yet. First I should probably thank Kisuke Urahara for his shipment of the serum. A drug that can distort the line between hollows and soul reapers is probably very costly to manufacture. Then we need to get a soul reaper to volunteer for the procedure."

"That won't be a problem. Several of the people you recruited have the necessary flexibility to embrace the possibilities of hollowfication. Aoki would probably be the first to volunteer." Kinji flinched. He had come to look at Aoki as a friend. He had no idea if the serum would work on soul reapers or what unintended effects if might cause. It was one thing to sacrifice those you didn't care about and another to sacrifice those you do. Logically it shouldn't matter if the ends truly justified the means. But there it was all the same.

"We have time to wait." Kinji said emphatically. "And I have diplomatic duties to attend to in the Soul Society. Don't do anything more with the serum until after I get back."

* * *

"You're just going to leave me here?" Isane complained to her older brother.

"Don't be so dramatic, Isane. You're just going to play steward for a few days while I take care of a few things. And you'll have plenty of company."

"Company that wants to kill me!"

"Again with the drama. They don't want to kill you." Isane gave her brother an incredulous look. Kinji held up his hands in mock defeat. "OK, so maybe Grimmjow wants to kill you. But he's locked up. The rest of them will keep you safe to save their own skin. Don't worry so much."

"How am I not supposed to worry?!" Kinji reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a silver bracelet. He clamped it onto her wrist and held up his own arm to show her an identical bracelet.

"With this you can reach me at any time. Just snap your fingers and it will open a window to me. But please be careful of when you use it. It might be awkward if you opened up a window on me in the bathroom." he teased. Then he hugged her. It was part brotherly affection and part calculated manipulation. She needed reassurance and he needed her to settle in a little before he left. She relaxed in his arms but only a little. She knew him far too well to be put off guard by so obvious a gesture. "Keep your eyes and ears open and you'll be fine." he tapped her twice on the back and stepped back, taking a good look at his sister. Her body language was all wrong for leadership. Hunched shoulders and eyes slightly downcast. He needed to give her a little shove.

"How long are you going to be gone?" she asked.

"6 or 7 days depending on certain negotiations." Kinji shouldered the pack of extra clothes and other supplies for his visit. "I'm taking Dordoni and Cirucci with me as bodyguards. Mila-Rose, Apache, and Sun-Sun are your bodyguards while you're here. They seem pretty fond of you." he said. He gave Isane a quick smile. "If you felt so inclined you might be able to conduct a coup and kick me out of Las Noches. You'd finally get to be a princess just like you always wanted." Isane blushed at the reminder of her childish fantasies. Kinji found that to be the most amusing point to end the conversation so he opened up the Garganta with a snap of his fingers and stepped through. Dordoni and Cirucci would be waiting for him on the Kotetsu Manor grounds, he knew. He waved a quick goodbye at his red-faced and stuttering sister and stepped through into a sunlit garden full of the living scents that didn't exist in Hueco Mundo. Isane relaxed a little more after her brother left, he was acting far too much like his old prank-happy self for her to be completely at ease around him. Then she reached behind her shoulder and pulled the simple piece of paper off her back. It read "kick me" in simple, quickly written characters. She smiled to herself and put the paper in her pocket, believing that she was in the clear.

She got ready for the slew of administrative tasks and paperwork that came with the job. She got herself coffee, a brush and ink well, and her pack of medical supplies. She never felt comfortable unless she had her tools close at hand. With everything she needed near at hand she sat on the Throne of Las Noches and settled in to work. All the morning petitions took her about an hour, nothing major was going on apparently. Kinji had ordered most of the major operations of Las Noches be halted until he returned which cut down massively on the paperwork. That meant no construction permits, no materials requisitions, funds requests, or personnel reassignment forms. It was late morning when Isane finished and she decided to go get a glass of water and maybe sit in silence for a few minutes. She didn't mind the three arrancars individually but when the three of them were together they did nothing but argue with and gripe about each other. She put her hands on the hand rests to push herself off the marble chair but was yanked back down. She blinked and looked down at the chair. She pushed herself up more slowly and found that her robes wouldn't come free of the stone. Her eyes widened and her face went red. Kinji had applied a clear coating of glue on the seat of the throne. Now her robes were adhered firmly to the marble which meant she would either have to stay there or leave her pants behind. She sat back down to ponder her options praying fervently to anyone who would listen that no one else had noticed her predicament.

"Lady Kotetsu, is something wrong?" Sun-Sun asked.

"I'm going to kill my brother." Isane said in uncharacteristic anger. It took a lot to make her mad but Kijnji had always know how to get under her skin. Part and parcel of being an older brother she supposed.

"Yes! Pay up Mila-Rose." Apache crowed triumphantly. The tan skinned woman reached into a belt pouch, pulled a few coins out of it and dropped them into Apache's hand.

"She bet you'd say that before the first day was over." Mila-Rose informed Isane who was visibly confused. "So what did he do to tick you off?"

"He put glue on the chair." Isane said meekly.

"Dick!" all three arrancars said at once, albeit in very different tones. From that and the sympathetic looks they gave her Isane knew that Kinji's joke about a coup de ta wasn't really a joke.

* * *

Kinji had planned for many contingencies, many variables on how his little diplomatic voyage would proceed. But what he found waiting for him in the gardens his mother had personally planted caught him off guard. He had been prepared for a strike force of enemy combatants. He had been prepared for a barrage of kido spells. He had planned for every calamity and disaster his fertile imagination could conceive of. What he had been expecting most of all was a mild assault and subsequent kidnapping by his mother. But what he found was a diplomatic delegation from the Feng clan dressed in fine black silks and golden ornamentation. Half a dozen members were standing at parade rest with their hands clasped loosely behind them. The two that stood at the front stood in a more casual stance. One of them was Sui-Feng wearing her typical Captain's uniform. But the other was a wizened old woman with thick white hair, short and hunched with age, she had narrow eyes of the same dark gray as Sui-Feng. Outwardly she appeared to be an elderly frail woman. But Kinji had spent most of his life serving under a man who assumed such an air of weakness to conceal unspeakable power.

In his early years he remembered some of the veterans of the Quincy extermination talking about warriors so steeped in death that they carried a phantom odor of blood wherever they went. He had never really believed it, never experienced it himself. This old woman made a believer out of him. He had been near enough to death to remember that stink and it hung around her like a cloud of smog. There was a heavy sweet perfume in the air, probably to mask the scent Kinji was now reacting to. But in that respect it was an utter failure. Without speaking a single word the old woman had made the Lord of Hueco Mundo and the leader of the arrancars rock back on his heels. Kinji took his eyes off the mass murderer just long enough to look at Sui-Feng. Her face was impassive and unreadable, but her body language told Kinji that she deferred to this old woman absolutely. If he didn't know better he would say that Sui-Feng looked almost submissive. Then his eyes went to his mother who was standing off to the side looking unhappy. Even though the Kotetsu clan technically outranked the Feng clan it was clear the Feng elder had bullied her way to this meeting somehow and Haru didn't like it. The fact that she was openly wearing her zanpakuto clearly testified to that.

This frightened realization and analysis took all of five seconds to go through Kinji's head. His next thought was to retreat back to Hueco Mundo and not take chances with his life. But when he took a step back he saw Sui-Feng flinch. He couldn't tell if it was from fear of what her elder was going to do if he ran, or some feeling of shame over his retreat. He set his feet more firmly and reached into his pocket to retrieve the invitation.

"My deepest apologies." he began in a clear and official voice. "I just received your invitation recently. I didn't realize I was late in sending my reply."

"Oh, no apologies needed young man. We simply wanted to meet you before the requirements of such a visit left you in a bad mood. The Seireitei can be hard on visiting dignitaries." the old woman's voice was filled with a very convincing warmth. If he had only heard the voice he would have assumed it was someone's kindly grandmother. But coming from her it just seemed more threatening.

"Well, should we sit down and have some tea?"

"That would be very kind of you." she held out a weathered hand for Kinji to take and lead her to a seat. He forced a smile onto his face and took the bony old hand. It was like touching cold sandpaper. "Oh dear. I was so caught up in meeting you that I forgot to make the proper introductions. I am the former head of the Feng clan. My name is Sui-Feng." His hand twitched. It was an involuntary reaction caused by his mind trying to run down a hundred possible avenues at once. The cold hand gripped his like a bony vice and proved all his fears true in an instant.

"My name is Kinji Kotetsu. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sui-Feng." The name felt wrong as he spoke it. The young woman he associated the name with was less...stained than her elder. The woman he knew had an aura of danger and a violent temper combined with a sense satisfaction in conquest. But the elder Sui-Feng was something else. Something a lot closer to actual evil. And calling them by the same name made him feel like he was smearing the younger woman.

"The pleasure is mine. After so long to see the image of Kurama again. It's like a breath of fresh air into my heart." Kinji sat her down on one of the prepared cushions and sat directly across from her. Everyone else filed in and took seats around them. Kinji's already frayed nerves took another jolt when the younger Sui-Feng took the seat on his left instead of remaining on the Feng side of the stone path that separated the two rows of cushions.

"I look like my grandfather?"

"Very much so. It's like looking a thousand years into the past before the Blood War began. He was a little older than you are now and significantly more powerful. But that look in your eyes-" she gave an appreciative sigh. "-the look of someone who can't help but scheme and plot and who takes great pleasure in concealing his hand in things." That friendly accusation cut deep. She had just described his general actions over the last 4 months. He had taken a degree of pleasure in knowing the ultimate goals and the full scope of his design. His breathing quickened along with his heart rate. "He died rather badly. I hope the fates are kinder to you when your time comes." _**What the hell? Was that a threat?**_ He thought.

_ I think it was. I find everything about this to be a kind of threat. I know the old bag is kind of distracting but she brought a small strike-force with her. Please tell me you didn't forget that. _Kitsunebi reminded him.

_**Thanks for the reminder. Be ready for violence if this doesn't go well.**_

"If I may be so bold, what is the reason behind your visit?" Kinji asked, course correcting away from the disturbing information about his ancestor. The old woman's narrow eyes turned to mere slits at Kinji's question. Then they opened again and slid over to the Captain of Division 2. Kinji also looked to his side.

"That was very naughty of you granddaughter, dear Shaolin." Kinji blinked. The woman he had always known as Sui-Feng bowed her head in acknowledgment of blame.

"I meant to inform him before I left Hueco Mundo but Lady Yoruichi-" the older woman cut her off with a look that both of them could feel.

"Little girl, I have told you before about being so easily lead. Even if she is the princess of the Shihouin you have let your feelings for her compromise your judgment. Do not let it happen again." The finality of her tone came down like a guillotine blade. Shaolin Feng flinched and bowed until her head was nearly touching the ground. And that pissed Kinji off.

"Please, this is a public setting. Save your internal discussions for when your time is not also my time." the ancient eyes narrowed again and Kinji felt the almost inhuman malice of her gaze. Then the pressure abruptly eased and the dreadful eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Of course, forgive an old woman her forgetfulness. We are here because Shaolin Feng informed me you and she wish to begin a courtship." Kinji's jaw dropped open in shock. He looked at Shaolin then back to the old woman. He shut his mouth and swallowed hard.

"Excuse me for asking but I would like you to clarify something. You are her grandmother?" he asked the elder of the Feng clan. She chuckled dryly.

"I am her ancestor by 5 generations. The first head of the clan to take the name Sui-Feng. Since then the name has been passed to every head of the clan. Unfortunately our clan tends to be very short-lived."

"So you're here to act as the head of the clan?" Kinji pressed. The answer to his question had several ramifications. A sudden power shift in a radically loyal clan like the Feng was a bad sign. And it meant that he couldn't count on Su- no, Shaolin's support for his position in Hueco Mundo. Sui-Feng smiled a little.

"Only in this small capacity. The courtship of the clan head must be overseen my the eldest member of the Feng clan. My cute little Shaolin-" Kinji noticed the woman on his left slouch a little at the repeated use of her real name, or maybe the addition of the word cute, "-is the only woman of the Feng clan in history to assume leadership before marrying. But I am delighted she finally found someone." She took a sip of the provided green tea before continuing. "I am aware that one of the Feng clan deceived you, pursued a romantic relationship with you, and attempted to murder you. You have my deepest apologies. The fact that you are willing to again extend your trust to us means more than I can say."

"Rest assured that I don't hold your clan responsible for the actions of an insane fanatic." Kinji said, pointedly ignoring his own cup of tea in favor of profiling the 6 soldiers whose eyes were fixed on him. They weren't blinking. Kinji was beginning to worry about where his two escorts had ended up. The arrancars should have gotten there before him but they were nowhere to be found. And he thought he knew why the six men were there at a meeting which should be purely a verbal discussion.

"We appreciate your magnanimity." Sui-Feng said, using the royal we to indicate she spoke for her entire clan in this instance. "And we look forward to the coming celebrations."

"Celebrations?"

"Dear child, a courtship in the Feng clan has never lasted more than three weeks. And with the exception of a few untimely deaths, every courtship ended in marriage." Kinji absorbed that information and gave himself a few heartbeats before he spoke again.

"Am I being threatened?"

"Yes. But not your life. Only your freedom." the old woman chuckled. She rose with a graceful slowness that made Kinji aware of her physical strength. Moving from sitting to standing using only your core muscles that slowly took significant strength and control. "Oh, there is one last thing." she said.

"What is that?"

"It's a small thing. Miniscule really. You have to prove you possess a level of competence in combat." And there it was. The reason the 6 men had been brought along. The Feng clan was a family of assassins and combat specialists. It made sense that they demanded a high level of martial prowess of anyone mixing bloodlines with them.

"You want to make sure I'm good breeding stock." Kinji said bluntly. Shaolin Feng shot him a murderous look that he felt more than saw.

"Simply put, but fundamentally correct. Now who here would you like to assist you in demonstrating your skills?" Kinji flexed his spiritual muscles in response and flooded the area with his power. It was enough to surprise everyone around him. He had left Soul Society with the strength of one of the lower ranking Captains. Now, after months of fighting and survival in Hueco Mundo, he had enough spiritual pressure to eclipse almost half of the Captains, including Sajin Komamura. Flickers of blue fire danced in his eyes and heated the surrounding area to summer temperatures. It also placed a significant degree of strain on everyone present who didn't have Captain level reiatsu. The six men were forced to their knees and began passing out one by one. When the last one dropped he pulled back his output to more reasonable levels. He straightened his coat in a preening manner.

"That being said, I do lean more toward kido than hakuda." Kinji said with false modesty.

"So much like Kurama." Sui-Feng mused. She turned to her granddaughter. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." The elder woman woke her soldiers and left. Shaolin Feng, or Sui-Feng the sixth, remained behind when her family's contingent left the Kotetsu grounds.

"Courtship? You couldn't have mentioned this when you were in Hueco Mundo?" Kinji asked as calmly as he could.

"I was going to tell you, but then you picked a fight with that arrancar." Sui-Feng replied. "And there are a few other things I still need to tell you." It was then that Kinji noticed a small bag leaned against one of the trees. A cold feeling prickled the back of his neck. "There are a few other customs that I need to observe." She picked up the bag and walking into his house.

_** Oh no.**_

_ This is going to be so much fun!_


	19. Courtship and Trust

**A/N: The frequency of my updates is inversely related to the sum total of my homework. And homework abounds. But don't worry, I'm not letting this story die, just letting it grow more slowly. Please review, especially if you have advice on writing Sui-Feng's character. Thanks for reading.**

**Chapter 19**

Five days had passed since the Feng clan had done it's level best to intimidate Kinji. Five days since Sui-Feng had moved herself into Kotetsu Manor and involved herself in Kinji's daily life. That involvement had taken many forms, some of which Kinji had enjoyed and some of which had stressed him to the breaking point.

* * *

**Day 1**

Kinji stretched his arms and legs in sleepy pleasure. Feeling his relaxed muscles stretch and twist helped him settle into his futon a little more comfortably, it was a pity he couldn't just lay back and sleep the morning away. He wanted to keep sleeping but he couldn't miss the meetings he had planned with the various noblemen to secure trade rights and other bureaucratic busywork. So he laid the blanket to the side and did some real stretching to help get his blood pumping. His bleary eyes cleared after a few minutes and he was treated to a view of living color. The garden his mother had planted that year was exceptional in both variety and arrangement. Vivid reds and yellows swirled around in a riot of color that were made almost violently brilliant by the early morning sun.

After his stretching he picked up his sword and stepped out onto the cool, damp grass. He never could have done this at Hueco Mundo, not with so many potential enemies so close by. Taking unguarded steps there would have guaranteed his death. But here, among the monuments and strength of his family he could feel safe enough to walk where he pleased without the need to check corners and prepare kido spells. Every breath tasted of green life in a way nothing in Hueco Mundo ever could. Even the greenhouse he had so carefully maintained still held the dry bitterness of Hueco Mundo's sands.

A razor sharp blade scraped the side of his neck and he sucked in a breath. Being home had made him careless. How had he so quickly forgotten the betrayals and attacks that had originally driven him to Hueco Mundo? "That would have been too easy." a cold female voice reproached him. The sword left his neck and he heard it slide back into a sheath with the barest whisper of sound. "Are you normally this lax in security?" Sui-Feng's face held a stony but distantly disapproving expression.

"I don't usually expect assassins of your caliber to be targeting me." Kinji replied defensively. His new house-guest and prospective fiance' wasn't wearing her Captain's haori. She still had the yellow sash tied across her waist to secure her zanpakuto. Despite his sleepiness and physical dishevelment his offered her a smile.

"Well start expecting it." she said brusquely.

"Please tell me I didn't annoy the old bat so badly I need to worry about a sword in the back... again." he corrected when the scar on his chest throbbed. Having one Feng woman shove a length of steel through his torso was enough for him. Sui-Feng shot him a scathing look.

"Don't insult my grandmother. Unless you really want to worry about being stabbed in the back." she said. Kinji remembered his manners and bowed to Sui-Feng.

"You're right, that was unnecessarily rude of me." he saw her eyes narrow in calculation. She was looking for some kind of hidden insult buried in what he had said. He smiled and let her uncertainty roil around in her mind. He thought her expression right then made her look more human, more approachable. "Did you want to join me for some morning exercise before breakfast?" he offered.

"What did you have in mind?" Sui-Feng was feeling a little suspicious of Kinji offering her anything, especially after the incident with the mead. Her head gave a phantom throb, an echo of the ungodly hangover she had experienced the next morning.

"Well, for what I had in mind you might be a little overdressed." He said. His body reflexively tensed to take a blow. That little bit of innuendo would probably be enough to incite physical violence from the small, hot-tempered woman. His eyes almost fell out of his head when she pulled at the yellow sash and started pulling off her shihakusho. Underneath she was wearing the standard uniform of the Stealth Force, or at least most of it. Her shoulders and back were bare, pale skin more obvious in the bright sunlight. She looked at him, indicating he should elaborate on his plan. "I was planning on going for a swim in the river." he improvised quickly. He had been planning on practicing his swordwork, but that wouldn't explain asking her to take her clothes off.

"Swimming? You call that exercise?" she sniffed.

"Well, then what do you want to do?"

Half an hour later Kinji regretted asking the question. His legs felt like they were going to give out under the weight of a full pack stuffed the bursting with rocks. Had to be 150lbs of stone strapped to his back and he'd been trying to keep up with Sui-Feng who was wearing an identical pack. He could see sweat gleaming on her strangely flawless skin but her strides hadn't slowed or even lost their precision. Keeping up with her was like trying to outlast a machine. But his pride kept him moving beyond the point where a deep pain started stabbing his sides and it felt like someone had jammed a handful of nails down his throat. Minutes crawled by one stride at a time and Kinji seriously began to wonder if Sui-Feng hadn't somehow tricked him. Had she used kido on her pack?

The woman in question looked behind her and saw the pitiful effort Kinji was putting forward. She gave him a smile that was equal parts sadism and pity. Then she slowed her pace until they were running side by side. "Ready to give up?" Kinji looked at her through eyes stinging with sweat. Something cruel and underhanded flickered in those bloodshot eyes and a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

"Not just yet." He pushed himself and pulled ahead of her slightly. Sui-Feng smiled in amusement and matched his pace. They went on for only a minute or two more before Kinji made his move. He knew the grounds around the Manor better than anyone, even his mother. And he knew that he had to push just a little farther to get to the river that ran through the property. The moment the path ran parallel to the river Kinji grabbed Sui-Feng's pack and pulled hard. He pitched them both into the ice-cold river, packs and all.

* * *

**Day 2**

The Kotetsu head family and a few retainers had been invited to a formal dinner and entertainment by one of the lower ranking noble families. They had been informed enough to include a "plus one" clause in Kinji's invitation. Kinji, still nursing the bruised ribs that were a consequence of his pulling Sui-Feng into the river with him, had gone to her personal room to ask if she wanted to go. He knocked gently on the wooden post and waited for her to answer. If she punched him for dunking her in a river, she might stab him for walking in on her unannounced. And he was smarter than that, dammit. The thought of walking in on her changing wasn't the least bit enticing.

"Come in." he slid the door open on reflex. Sui-Feng was dressed in a silk kimono of dark blue with golden flower designs on the hem and sleeves. A tailor was darting about the impatient-looking woman with needles clenched in her lips. The tailor gave him an evil look for intruding but said nothing. Sui-Feng's hair was out of her normal braids and hanging most of the way down her back in a silken black sheet. It softened Sui-Feng's features in a way that Kinji found very pleasing. "What is it?" Sui-Feng said with a warranted degree of irritation. Kinji realized he had been staring at her for several seconds without speaking.

"I guess you didn't need me to tell you about the invitation." Kinji said.

"What invitation?" Sui-Feng's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

"The invitation to the Kyoraku estate? Isn't that why you're having a fitting done?" Kinji asked. Sui-Feng cast an angry glance to her left, toward his mother's room.

"Your mother insisted I let this torturer do a number of fittings." Sui-Feng looked at the older woman wielding the pins with a degree of professional respect. "I offered her an officer seat in Division 2 but she turned me down." Kinji couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but he erred on the side of Sui-Feng's cruel streak.

"That does sound like my mother." Kinji agreed. "Did you want to go with me tonight?" Sui-Feng's mind drifted back to a conversation she'd had with Lady Yoruichi less than a week ago. The Shihouin princess had taken hours to instruct her on the basics of relationships and seduction. _For someone as stiff necked as him the best thing you can do is offer little hints. Tease him as often as you can. Trust me._ Yoruichi's phantom voice echoed in her head.

"I had other ideas for how to spend the night." she said, using the voice her mentor had coached her to use. It was low, patient, and hungry. The effect on Kinji was immediate and very gratifying to Sui-Feng. His eyes widened and she saw him pull in a sudden breath in surprise and sudden excitement. She also saw the iron in his eyes as he quashed the thoughts her words inspired. He shuffled a little uncomfortably, as if just having those speculative thoughts was embarrassing. Sui-Feng didn't bother to hide her enjoyment of his discomfort but her pleasure was interrupted by a pin pricking her leg.

The tailor gave her a disapproving look from under her matronly gray hair and fixed another pin in place. "Yes, I'll go with you." Sui-Feng said. Kinji nodded and moved to leave. "Wait." Sui-Feng stopped him. "How...how does it look?" now it was her turn to feel self-conscious. Kinji turned back around and gave her a smile.

"You look beautiful."he left before she had a chance to say anything. The normally stoic Captain's face went a little pink. She moved instinctively after him, not wanting him to have the last word, even if that word did make her heart beat faster. The old woman stopped her once again by putting a firm hand on her leg and holding it there.

"You can continue tormenting each other after I'm done resizing this kimono." the tailor said sternly. She had used up enough pins that she could speak again without fear of dropping them. "It was so much simpler when my husband and I got married. None of this posturing and game playing..."

* * *

"Well, aren't you the cute couple." Shunsui Kyoraku, dressed in his normal, guady pink kimono and wearing that ridiculous straw hat, greeted Kinji and Sui-Feng at the gate of the lavish but small mansion and grounds of his family's estate. They were walking together, arms linked in a formal fashion. But Shunsui was a very perceptive man, their attempt at normal interaction didn't fool him in the least. He could read Kinji's pent-up excitement and Sui-Feng's suppressed nervousness like they both had signs hanging around their necks. He had never seen Sui-Feng nervous before, at least not since she had been a lowly foot soldier in the Onmitsukido. Somehow, she had come to care what Kinji Kotetsu thought of her. And Kinji looked like a dog at the very end of his leash with a bone just inches from him. The boy was head over heels for Sui-Feng and he was not coping very well.

"Thank you, Captain Kyoraku." Kinji said with a forced smile. Despite the man being a member of the nobility, and his legendary taste for alcohol, Kinji had never gotten to know the man. Their paths had simply not crossed often enough for that.

"Shunsui, please. This is a party after all. Let loose, have some fun!" the man emphasized his point by holding up a jug of sake. Kinji perked up like a man who just remembered something small but important. He reached into his pocket with the hand that Sui-Feng hadn't trapped and pulled out a small metal flask. He handed it to the second son of the Kyoraku family with a more genuine smile.

"A sample. If you like it I can have more delivered." he explained. The Captain of Division 8 had the presence of mind to look surprised before he took the offered item. He opened the flask and sniffed. It was a kind of sake, but smelled heavily of plum. He took a sip and a swirl of successive flavors rolled over his tongue. He had to take a second taste to decide if he liked it or not, it was so unlike most sakes he'd ever tasted. The uniqueness of handcrafted liquor, he decided.

"You must have spent a fortune to find sake so rare." he flattered. "Bring some by the 8th Division and we can drink it together." Kinji flushed at the praise and he nodded his assent. He could certainly do that. "I would ask Captain Sui-Feng to stop by too, but..."

"Is that fool Enjoji still your 3rd Seat?" Sui-Feng asked with mild amusement. "I can't believe you haven't replaced him yet."

"He's not so bad once you get to know him. But he can be a bit of a handful where you're concerned." Kinji felt a vague stirring of jealousy. "I mean, look what he did to our Division's recruitment poster." Shunsui pulled a rolled up piece of paper out of his robe and flicked it open. On it was a reasonable depiction of Sui-Feng in her battle attire.

"I didn't mind the poster so much, it was the hologram that Division 12 put together that made me file a restraining order."

"I'm pretty sure you could take him bare-handed." Shunsui said.

"The retraining order was to keep him safe. I hate writing "sorry I killed your subordinate" cards." Sui-Feng gave Shunsui a rare smile.

"Who is this Enjoji?" Kinji asked with a tone of voice neither Sui-Feng or Sunsui had heard from him before. It was a cold, wrathful sort of sound. It sent a chill down Shunsui's spine and a tingle up Sui-Feng's. She gave him a look that was 1 part annoyance and two parts appreciation.

"No one, no one at all my young friend. Here." He produced a sake dish and poured some from the jug he was carrying. Kinji took the offered drink and downed it without hesitation. It was a fine drink but Kinji wasn't in the proper mindset for thinking about tasting notes. But the indifference with which he downed the alcohol told Shunsui that Kinji was no novice drinker. "Ah, a fellow enthusiast."

"Amateur enthusiast." Kinji corrected. His voice still had a little of that icy edge and he hadn't forgotten about this Enjoji who had apparently harassed Sui-Feng at some point. The fact that Sui-Feng could laugh about it, or smile about it, didn't really help quell the protective and jealous impulses making the fingers of his left hand twitch. "And I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'd love to meet the members of Division 8." Shunsui smiled nervously and ushered them into the party. They mixed and mingled, not all of the meetings were entirely friendly but neither of them actually got into a fight. It wasn't until much later that night, after both of them had a drink or two, that they encountered Shunsui again.

"So, what's it like living with a bunch of arrancars?" Kinji had been dreading the question since he decided to accept the invitation.

"It's never boring." He said, trying to brush off the question.

"I hear most of them are women." Shunsui said longingly. "It sounds like a lot more fun than running a Division."

"Maybe if I had a different disposition. I'm too much of a prude to enjoy-" The arm linked in his tightened enough to be uncomfortable.

"To enjoy what, exactly?" Sui-Feng's voice was just as icy as Kinji's had been when they had talked about Enjoji.

"You know what. Don't act like this is news to you when you were the one who staged the scene with Mila-Rose and Apache breaking into the red wine." Kinji shot back, feeling defensive because of her tone of voice.

"And you got a nose bleed when you saw it. Does that kind of thing happen often?"

"Not by my choice, but -"

"So you see naked women day in and out in Hueco Mundo?"

"I didn't say that-"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I have a lot of stressful and idiotic garbage-" Kinji and Sui-Feng were right up in each others faces, not quite yelling but certainly working up to it. Shunsui decided to defuse the situation in the best way he knew how. He bumped into Kinji with enough force to move him forward and the couple suddenly went silent. The shock of their lips coming together had caused them both to freeze in sudden panic. Bright gray eyes locked with dark gray ones and they each saw the hesitation and fear reflected in the others eyes. After an agonizing moment Kinji lowered his eyelids and pressed forward gently. The iron cables Sui-Feng had instead of muscle lost some of their tension. It was an awkward kind of kiss, full of missteps and hesitation. Neither of them were exactly well practiced. But it moved them past a critical breaking point in their relationship. It confirmed to them how they felt about each other beyond the petty doubts the night had thrown between them. Shunsui cleared his throat when they started moving past what would be appropriate for a public event. They broke apart, trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably.

"Ready to leave?" Kinji asked.

"More than ready." Sui-Feng replied. Once they had said the appropriate farewells they hurried back toward the Kotetsu estate. On the way back Sui-Feng stopped and pulled Kinji aside from the well-worn path. "I need you to make me a promise." her voice was urgent. It yanked Kinji out of the haze of pleasure and alcohol and back into the very real, and very politically charged life.

"If I can I will." he said, meaning every word.

"Promise that you'll never lie to me." Kinji froze and his face locked into a very careful poker face. What she was asking was for absolute trust between them. If he were to be totally truthful with her he would be placing his life, the lives of his family, and the the lives of his subordinates in Hueco Mundo in her hands. And if his worst case scenario was accurate he was risking the existence of the current balance of power between the worlds. Weighed against that was the prospect of having someone he could share his life with, an end to the isolation and loneliness that had chipped away at his heart every day since he had gone to Hueco Mundo.

Sui-Feng saw the careful non-expression on his face and pulled away from him. She had pushed too fast. But she couldn't trust someone who was lying to her as openly as Kinji was. It wasn't that she didn't know the value of keeping information compartmentalized, it was that she couldn't take another person suddenly leaving her on her own like Yoruichi had a century ago. Kinji took her hand and held tight to keep her from leaving. "If I make this promise then I need you to promise me something. And I'm not sure you'll be able to make it." he licked his suddenly dry lips. "Some of the things I know can't be made public. If Central 46 ever heard about what I'm doing they would mount an invasion and burn Hueco Mundo to the ground." Sui-Feng saw real fear in Kinji's face then. Not the momentary fright of a sudden movement or the cowardice she sometimes saw in new subordinates. It was the bone deep terror of a man who was about to risk everything he loved. Now it was her face that became purposefully impassive. She had built her entire life on a code of honor that demanded complete loyalty to the government of the Soul King. But after Aizen managed his coup her faith in that system had been badly shaken. A she had told Aizen in Karakura Town, Central 46 was a bunch of fools for letting him plot as he pleased without their noticing. But thinking ill of Soul Society's governing body was worlds away from actually neglecting her duty toward it. Could she place Kinji above her duty?

Both of them were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either they vowed absolute loyalty to each other right there or they placed their responsibilities above their personal desires. They both knew what the smart move was, but smart wasn't always right. Every excited beat of their hearts was a sharp pain that told them another moment had passed in that state of uncertainty. Their futures would be decided based on the choices they made that night and they both knew it. Not that they were ready for it when it came.

"Wanna sleep on it?" Kinji asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"No. I can't make that promise." Sui-Feng admitted.

"Then, I can't promise I'll tell you everything. But I can promise that I'll never tell you a lie." Kinji offered as a moderate compromise.

"It's not enough." Sui-Feng's words caused Kinji to visibly flinch and put a hand to his chest. "I should call this whole thing off. This was a bad idea from the start." She pulled her hand from Kinji's nerveless grip and started walking away. She cursed herself for not following Lady Yoruichi's plan to drive Kinji half out of his mind before asking him, but she couldn't stay so distant, so detached.

"Give me until the end of the week." Kinji blurted out. Sui-Feng stopped but didn't turn back around. "Give me three days to rethink my answer and get a few things in order. Just in case things- in case you have to make a hard choice." Kinji's zanpakuto, who had remained respectfully silent for the entire evening, decided to speak up. _Love is a simple commitment that requires nothing less than everything. Three days aren't going to change that._

_** No, it won't. **_Kinji agreed. _**But it might be enough for me to limit the damage of a wrong choice.**_

* * *

**Day 4**

The next two days had passed very quickly for Kinji. The first day he spent trrying to clear up the rest of his trade problems. On the second day he went back to Hueco Mundo for about 8 hours to create a proper chain of command in case they were attacked. He also invested both Akon and Aoki with the plan in case he was taken out of play. He wanted to talk with Isane but she was out on patrol with Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose and Apache. And just before he left, Grimmjow made an escape attempt that left him with a few bruises, and left Grimmjow with a lot of bruises. He got back later that night with no energy left to do much of anything.

"Thanks for leaving me alone with your mother and sister." Sui-Feng's voice sounded behind him. He turned around and winced in pain as a pulled muscle in his back made itself known. But that minor detail was forgotten as soon as he saw the woman who might make or break his life. Sui-Feng was wearing make-up. Not much, and not enough to significantly change her features, but she was wearing _make-up_! The awkward tension that had hung between them was suddenly He was suddenly, painfully aware of her femininity and the simple white robe she was wearing. He made himself look away before he did or said anything embarassing. But Sui-Feng noticed his reaction and was feeling like a little payback was in order.

"They didn't put you through anything too embarrassing, did they?" Kinji asked with a degree of sympathy.

"It depends on how you define embarrassing. Would you define letting people smear things on your face as embarrassing? How about having other people dress you in clothes you'd never dream of wearing." Kinji's body language became a little more submissive but also a little more tense. She smiled wickedly and said the thing she new would run through his head for the rest of the night. "I did like the underwear they helped me pick out though. They were so comfortable compared to a simple wrap that I decided to keep them on." She saw his eyes dart back to her and her face went a little pink. She knew how he would react but she hadn't expected his gaze to feel so intense. He forced his eyes to look away once more and his voice was choked with something when he spoke next.

"Sorry about that." He tried to turn and walk away and the muscle in his back twanged hard enough to make his movement jerky. The sudden irregularity caused Sui-Feng to notice the edges of a bruise on his neck that were just starting to turn purple.

"What happened?" her voice demanded, suddenly hot and tinted with potential violence.

"Unruly prisoner." Kinji replied. A flicker of movement was all Kinji got before Sui-feng was standing very close to him and pulling back the collar of his coat to get a better look. Then her fingers started prodding him, mostly along his back and torso, until she managed to find every bruise and sore spot on him. He stood very still, remembering the pain those fingers could cause if she wished it. The feeling of her fingers running over his arms sent him back to that night, months ago, when she had gotten unintentionally drunk and stolen the mead he had stashed under his living quarters. A faint smile came to his lips, but only for a moment before she found the muscles that he pulled. Deceivingly delicate fingers probed and tested the sore area.

"Come on." she said and pulled Kinji toward the lights of the manor. He barely had time to think about it before she twisted her body in a more gentle version of a throw and he was face down on a futon that smelled vaguely sweet. He tried to rise and protest but she hit a pressure point under his shoulder and he fell back onto the soft padding. "Hold still, this won't take more than a minute." Strong fingers began working the tweaked tissue in circles. It was uncomfortable but not quite painful and Kinji's weary mind and body began to relax under her touch. But then the fingers dug in hard around the edges of the pulled muscle.

"Ow ow ow!" he complained as her fingers brought increasing pressure. Then, with a swift motion she jolted the area and the pain, all of the pain, vanished. "Oh." he sighed in appreciation. Then, just before he drifted off into sleep, he muttered. "Thank you." His head sank into the soft bedding and he was asleep. Sui-Feng looked down at him in annoyance. He had just fallen asleep in her bed. If she had known he would just pass out after she fixed his back then she would have marched him to his own room first. She was about to move him when she saw the smile on his face and hesitated. She wasn't a soft person easily swayed by emotion, she hadn't been since she was very small. But the stirring in her when she saw that smile on Kinji's face made her stop. Her life of living at odds with everyone was pitted against the sudden and unfamiliar tenderness that had invaded her heart. Then a memory pulled at her, that feeling of warmth and contentment that she had known just before she woke up in that hospital bed with Kinji. She looked out into the hallway and noted that most of the lamps in the bedrooms had already gone out. She looked around outside and made sure no one was watching. Then she looked back down at Kinji and her heart started beating faster.

_**Just this once**_, she thought. She moved Kinji gently onto his back without waking him and made herself comfortable at his side. The futon was large enough for at least two people, which had made Sui-Feng question what Haru Kotetsu had expected her to do with it. Probably something very much like what she was doing now, she suspected. But as her own eyes closed her thoughts slipped away into the night. All that was left was the warmth between them and his scent, like sweet woodsmoke, sinking in to the cloth and bedding and into her skin. They slept like that until the stars faded out of the sky and the sun began to shed light over the tree tops. But when Kinji woke up he found himself alone in Sui-Feng's bed with nothing to show she had been there except the sweet scent she had left on the bedding.


	20. Treason and Traitors

**Author's Note: It will be at least two weeks before I update again. The reading load I've got and all the extra work that's been piling up is enough to surprise even me, and I've already done a year in this Master's program. As always I appreciate any reviews, I've got plenty of room for improvement so I'm grateful to any of you who help with that.**

Chapter 20

**Kotetsu Manor-Day 7**

The tension in the room was so thick it could choke less stubborn beings. Which made it a very good thing that Kinji and Sui-Feng we the only ones there. The elaborate hall was the place Kinji had chosen to make his final decision, partially because the room was meant for decisions of such gravity, but mostly because the room was big enough for him to add "show" to tell. The room was sparsely decorated at first glance, but when you looked up you saw a tableau of war and love. Figures embraced and wearing fine clothes were juxtaposed with figures cutting and stabbing each other. It was a visual representation of his clan's history stretching back to antiquity. There was a blank section where the building had collapsed in the attack that had nearly destroyed the grand old building. There was no way to restore it because no one could remember what had been in that spot. But that just meant there was a spot open for new history to be written. And Kinji had a feeling that his choice on that day would shape the images that would appear in that blank space.

Sui-Feng was a knot of tension and tightly controlled emotion. When she refused to give Kinji absolute loyalty in exchange for his promise to never lie to her, she had relinquished the initiative in the relationship. It was his choice that would determine where things went from here, wherever here was. The strange suspension of progress in their relationship had been something of a relief but it also introduced a feeling of dread for the future. And few things made Sui-Feng more afraid than waiting for someone else to decide her future.

"I guess I'll just get right to it." Kinji said with a distinct lack of gravity. "I promise that I will never play you false. I won't agree to some king of radical honesty that requires me to speak my every thought and feeling, but I will be completely honest with you."

"What's the difference?" She asked with controlled frustration.

"The difference is in speaking literal truth. I'm promising honesty of the heart. I won't keep important things from you or lie about them. But small things, like how I feel about something? That stays with me." Now the ball was in her court again.

"Will you tell me what you're planning on doing with the army you're building?"

"I'm prepared to tell you everything right now." He nodded at the rolled up papers next to him. His heart was beating very fast. Even though the decision had been his to make it wasn't an emotionless or easy position to be in, not even after the decision was made.

"Then that's good enough." she said after the most tense moment of both their lives.

"Before I start there's another thing you should know, in the spirit of honesty." He made sure he was looking in her eyes before he went on. "I love you." Her eyes shot wide open at his declaration. She felt like he had taken a man-sized sack full of scrap iron and hit her with it. It felt like a full body blow that struck unevenly. The ache was full body but she felt the most pressure in her eyes and her chest. She blinked and a tickling sensation made it's way down one cheek. He fingers reached up to touch her cheek and they came away wet. She wiped the tears away as quickly as she could and put up the mask of indifference she used when carrying out her duties as a Captain. She wouldn't cry in front of him. She refused.

"I-" she tried to answer him but her voice squeaked in rebellion.

"Before you say anything, wait until you hear what you're getting into." he said as gently as he could. "There are three factions in this conflict, the Gotei 13, the Blood Faction, and the White Army. The main camps are the Seireitei and Las Noches. I can't take my arrancars to wipe out the Blood Faction without declaring war on the entire Seireitei, Gotei 13 included."

"Blood Faction?" she asked.

"They needed a name. A bunch of nobles insisting bloodlines is the only relevant factor in determining worth? Blood Faction. So I can't attack them but they could, potentially, attack me. Their main objective is to bring Soul Society under their control. They don't have the manpower to do it so they're pulling together three powerful artifacts to give them the edge to do it. They have the Sword and Mirror. The Jewel, AKA the Hogyoku, is still missing. They find it and they win. I've had 4 months to look for it in Hueco Mundo and I've found several fakes. But Aizen took the real one with him when he and the Espadas invaded the World of the Living." Sui-Feng's sharp mind made the connections and came up with the same answer Kinji had more than a week ago. The Hogyoku was still in the Karakura Town Replica that Division 12 had created then left to gather dust. "That's right, it's been sitting under everyone's nose for over two years. And before long the Faction will either figure it out or they'll get lucky. If you get it, they'll find a way to steal it. If I get it, they'll manipulate the Gotei 13 into invading Hueco Mundo and wait until you destroy me before stealing it anyway. It isn't an elegant plan but you have to admit they've got their ducks in a row." He picked up one of the rolled papers and spread it out between them. It was a map of the Seireitei and the surrounding Rukon areas. There were several points marked in red. "These are the places I can open a Garganta in the area around the Replica. Since it's not in the Seireitei it would take some time before the Gotei 13 could respond. If we moved quickly enough we could get the Jewel and retreat before anyone could prove we'd been there. And when I start using it to make more arrancars the one who holds the Sword will be able to feel it." Now Sui-Feng finally reacted to this entire mad scheme. Kinji had moved through the situation so quickly, desperate to get his presentation over with so he could see where the chips were going to fall, that Sui-Feng had sat there in a state of shock. He was discussing things very close to treason with so little gravity that she found it disturbing.

"Are you insane? You can't do that!"

"Invade the Rukon with arrancars or use the Hogyoku to make more arrancars?"

"Both! If Central 46 heard any of this they would kill you for even thinking such things."

"Now are you a little more sympathetic to me keeping secrets and lying?"

"Not really. Just more aggravated." she admitted without shame. "And reconsidering a number of recent choices I've made."

"Well, wait until I'm done before you make a decision. You're going to want to make a full reprt if you decide to turn me in." Kinji's voice was had a bitterness to it that just aggravated Sui-Feng more. "Now, the real problem isn't the Faction so much as the artifacts. They're... alive in a way. They find a host, hollow it out, then-" he bit the end off his sentence because he really wasn't sure what the end of the process was. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what the end of that process was because it had almost happened to him. Even now, months later, remembering the experience of the Mirror stripping away his memories and being, filled him with a sense of dread and loathing. Not just loathing but self-loathing, a feeling of being somehow tainted by the experience. Like he was damaged goods. "They are wreaking havoc on our world using us as puppets. If we kill every single person who agrees with the Faction in the slightest the problem wouldn't be at an end. There is something profoundly evil in those objects and they can't be destroyed by any means I can think of."

"Are you sure this isn't about what happened to you?" Sui-Feng asked with cool dispassion. It was forced, she wasn't feeling nothing while hearing everything he was saying. But she was smart enough not to feed the fire of Kinji's emotions by adding her own. He was beginning to look and sound a little unhinged.

"No- well, I mean-... My experience has something to do with this. But because of what I went through I got a good look at what the Mirror really was. It is an abomination. It's influence destroyed my father. It nearly destroyed me. If we win this battle but let these corrupting things slip through our fingers then we will have to do this all over again."

"But the artifacts didn't make the choice to start this war. People, stupid and arrogant people started all this." Sui-Feng said, this time failing to keep the bitterness and anger out of her voice.

"Yes they did. But those godforsaken trinkets made it worse, much worse. And the worst part of all this is that someone with more than a little cunning is in their leadership. Instead of a head on confrontation they spent a century building a fifth column in the Gotei 13 and using the infiltrators to steal the artifacts. The Winter War and Second Invasion gave them a chance to place even more of their people after the heavy losses and the recruitment drive Yamamoto announced. The Gotei 13 is rotting."

"Be careful." Sui-Feng warned.

"How can an army go into battle when there are knives pointed at their backs? The rank and file have already been effectively neutralized. All that's left are the higher officers. And the politics of the situation will force them to confront me as soon as I make a move. I've taken steps to minimize that threat." Sui-Feng's muscles tensed. Kinji just crossed the line into treason. He had just confessed to interfering with the Gotei 13's power structure in an attempt to make victory in direct conflict possible. She was very conscious of her zanpakuto across her back and she had to fight the reflex to draw it and cut him down. Her slender fingers were white and bloodless as she squeezed them together in reaction to the internal conflict. "When they invade they will find themselves fighting without the aid of their zanpakuto. Or, some of them at least. That will force the Faction to play their hand openly and send their strongest warriors, including the ones using the Sword and Mirror. And when I find them I can pull my ace in the hole." he held up the bracelet on his right wrist for her to see. "Beings who are inside the garganta when it closes are trapped between worlds, thrown out of time and space. If I'm very lucky I can make sure all three objects end up in that void. After that, assuming I'm still alive, I will surrender, leave Hueco Mundo under my family's supervision, and be executed for treason. Or go into hiding in either Hueco Mundo or the Living World."

"What you're talking about is committing treason to purge a dissident group in Soul Society. It's insane." she said bluntly. "Have you asked the Captain-Commander for help?"

"He admitted that I was probably a dead man from the start of this mission. I even went to Byakuya and tried to get him to pitch in. His hands are even more tied by law and politics than Yamamoto's. And when I talked with Yoruichi-" he saw Sui-Feng's eyes narrow at the casual use of her old teacher's name, "-she said I had her personal support but that the elders of her family would prevent her from throwing the weight of her clan into the situation. I'm alone on this one and that's how it's probably going to stay. It does have the benefit of limiting the scope of the political damage to just me and the arrancars."

"This isn't just insane, it's stupid. Give me a list of targets and two months."

"Central 46 would stop you and have you put on trial after the first body hit the ground. Even if you weren't the one who actually did the killing or if it looked like an accident. The Faction probably has more than a few members of Central 46 in their pocket. You can thank Sosuke Aizen for that." Kinji gave her a wry smile at the end. Even years after his death Aizen was still causing problems. His murder of all 46 of the original council members had allowed a sudden and massive number of promotions to Soul Society's governing body. There was no way someone like Eiji Tenshin would let an opportunity like that pass him by. He may have been a bigoted old bastard, but he hadn't lived as long as he had through sheer luck.

"Then we should cut the head off the snake. Kill the Tenshin and everything else will fall apart."

"It isn't just the Tenshin. I can't prove it, but if it was just Eiji and Reiko Tenshin then the strategy of this whole set-up would be different. Someone else, a third person, is running things." Kinji said, remembering the bits of information he had garnered from Takeshi before Lin had stabbed him in the back. A mysterious figure whose identity he had yet to discover and somehow had been at least one step ahead of him since this whole mess had started.

"Lord Kotetsu." the accented voice of Dordonii asked from outside the room was distinctive but muffled. "You have a visitor waiting to see you."

"I'm busy." Kinji said testily.

"Yes sir, I know. But I think you will want to see this." Kinji glared at the door but stood up anyway.

"Sorry. I'll give you the last few details in a moment." He opened the door and Dordonii was standing right in front of him. Kinji blinked, both at his proximity and the smile on his face. He saw a shape laying on the floor behind his arrancar attendant. The shape was also Dordonii, but covered in blood and moving weakly. Kinji's reaction time was superb but the fake Dordonii was already moving. Suddenly Kinji was looking into the Mirror's polished depths and he froze when he saw Miko's smiling face looking back at him. He felt a tug at his waist when a fragment of his zanpakuto's tsuba snapped off and was sucked into the reflective surface. He heard Kitsunebi's pained shriek as if it were truly audible instead of in his head.

When the piece finished sinking into the Mirror there was a bloom of reiatsu from it and Dordonii's image dissolved into Lin Feng. Kitsunebi's blade swept across horizontally, on target to gut the woman. The Mirror reshaped itself into a sword and Kinji's blade was stopped cold. She held up a hand and a pulse of raw power threw Kinji back into the room and onto the table. Both Kinji and Sui-Feng froze in shock. The Lin they knew didn't have that kind of power. Sui-Feng was the first to truly react. Lin stopped her sword cut but the kick that followed it was too fast. Sui-Feng's heel thudded into her gut and she tumbled out into the hallway. Both Kinji and Sui-Feng rushed through that doorway but were forced to dodge to the sides when a wave of blindingly hot fire rushed out from Lin's sword. Kinji used a precious moment to look at the sword she was holding. It was the spitting image of Ryuujin Jakka, right down to the the slight cracks on the plain round tsuba. Hate and anger as hot as the flames of that most powerful zanpakuto swept through Kinji's veins. His own fire flared from his drawn sword and he used it to lash out at Lin. The ferocity of the attack forced her to retreat a few steps. Sui-Feng was there to strike at her unprotected back, but her sword was stopped by another zanpakuto, this one in Lin's off hand and bearing a different tsuba than Ryuujin Jakka. This one, bearing the image of a floral cross, began to emit a light fog and the temperature near it plumeted. The copy of Hyorinmaru coated Sui-Feng's sword in ice that shattered when she was forced to disengage.

Despite her new powers, Lin was finding herself sorely pressed against the two Captain level fighters. A flare of fire in one direction and a lance of ice in the other bought her a little more breathing room. But Kinji shoved his way through the fire instead of avoiding it. His fine white clothes came through singed and his skin was reddened, but he charged in regardless. Kitsunebi slammed against the fake zanpakuto with enough force to hurt her wrist. The feral snarly on Kinji's face highlighted the threat he posed to her immediate well-being. So she sidestepped and let his sword slide down. She moved behind him with surprising speed and chopped down with both swords, ice and fire generating steam due from being so close. The kido barrier Kinji wove into the vest he wore would stop most attacks, and it slowed these to be nearly harmless, but the heat of Ryuujin Jakka still burned him and the ice added several pounds of additional weight to his coat. He ripped the useless cloth away and responded with solid hammering sword strikes that numbed Lin's arms with their brutality. Sui-Feng attacked from behind and nearly decapitated her. She ducked under the cut and flash stepped to gain some distance. Sui-Feng was the faster but she didn't immediately pursue her traitorous cousin. When Kinji tried she put a hand out to stop him. And stop him it did, as surely as an iron beam set in stone. He shot her a look filled with fire. The cold iron in her eyes were untouched by the heat, she had more important priorities than Kinji's emotions.

"What are you doing here, Lin?"

"Just picking up pieces of something my ex broke. How is it, nibbling at my leftovers?" Something ugly flickered in Sui-Feng's dark gray eyes. "Has he kissed you yet? I hope he's gotten better at it. I couldn't stand the taste of him, myself." Kinji's hate burned hotter, but the momentary reprieve let his mind take hold of it. That control made it infinitely more dangerous than the wild, reckless emotion it had been. When the pain of her remarks showed on his face she sneered at him. "What's wrong? Miss the stuttering girl who always wanted to lean on you. Oh, can I walk with you in the woods at night. Whisper sweet things in your ear." The mockery felt like someone running a rough stone along his very soul. But the pain made his mind clearer, made him fight to reason why she was here. She had needed to take back the power Kitsunebi had stolen from the Mirror, but why was she sticking around when he knew she had the means to teleport herself back to safety? There had to be a reason.

"I'm not going to kill you. Not right away. You remember that room Grandma never let us go into. The one with seven locks." Sui-Feng said with a cruel smile. Lin's face turned pale as the ghost of an old fear made her heart stutter. "Remember the day we snuck in there. You screamed so loud it woke the entire house. I have a room like that too, Lin. I've got it all scrubbed clean for you. I'll keep you there for days. I'll make you tell me every traitorous thing you ever did. Every single detail of every betrayal. And after you have, I might be merciful and hand what's left of you over to Central 46." The woman she was speaking to had broken out in a cold sweat and even from a distance Kinji could see her hands shaking.

"The first thing I'll do after I kill him is burn everything you own to the ground." Lin stood up taller and the two swords vanished. "In fact, why don't I just kill you both right now and save everyone some trouble. Bankai!" Silver light surrounded her and thousands of floating pieces of mirrors formed in the air around her. They gathered behind her with an almost lazy slowness. They pieced themselves together into a mirror at least 12 feet in diameter suspended a mere inch off the ground.

_I know she took back Miko's power, but could you take it back if you had to?_ Kinji thought at his zanpakuto.

_**I can.**_ She said with an anticipatory pleasure as images of Kinji's plan were conveyed to her through their bond. What he was planning was both ambitious and poetical. It was also cruel to the point of being demonic, but Kitsunebi was willing to let him off given who he was directing this plan toward. _**But if she's stronger than we are, she'll just rip me away from you. Again.**_

_You know as well as I do, the power she has isn't actually hers. It's Hers._ Both sword and master shuddered in unison as the image of the real Miko came to mind. That memory was strange. Kinji had feared many people over his life, some of them he was terrified of. But their faces had faded over time. But the memory of Miko's black eyes seemed to grow more real over time, more terrifying. If what had been behind that white strip of cloth had simply been empty eye sockets it wouldn't have been as bad. But the blackness there had been alive, a life so alien and hateful that Kinji's guts twisted into a knot when the memory assaulted him. _But She picked a piss poor host. It will limit Her. We will win._

The reflection that Kinji saw behind Lin was something out of a ghost story. Men and women were standing there in neat rows. They were perfect replicas of people he had known, both living and dead. They were the wielders of the zanpakutos he had copied using the Mirror. But their clothes were torn and dirty, their skin was fallow and stained. They had no eyes, just gaping black pits, and their mouths hung slack. Kinji could see a number of people that made him go stiff with worry. Yamamoto, Hitsugaya, and Aizen were the three walking corpses at the very front of Lin's window into Hell.

_Now!_

_**Now!**_ Kinji and his sword called out in unison. The sword transitioned into it's bankai form in the blink of an eye and the silvery chains of one of his tails shot past Lin and sank into the Mirror's surface. The look on Lin's face was very gratifying to Kinji as his chains sank in deep. He could feel the chains entangling the memory zanapakuto images inside the Mirror. People in the Mirror began disappearing one after the other as his chains wrapped around more and more swords. Kinji heaved with all his strength and will. Broken pieces of swords clattered onto the ground around Kinji's ex-girlfriend. In one fell swoop he had ripped away almost half of her power. And that wasn't the worst of it.

Kitsunebi was among the most philosophical and moralistic zanpakuto in existence, but that only made her hatred of the Mirror stronger. It had tried to consume her, if she had been an ordinary zanpakuto it would have succeeded. Being so closely bonded to the entity that called itself Miko had given Kitsunebi insight into it's nature and how it's power worked. She knew what it would do if it was threatened. So Kitsunebi sank her hooks into the tenuous bond that had formed between Lin and Miko and ripped at it.

The zombies that Lin had managed to order out of the Mirror were keeping Sui-Feng more than busy keeping Kinji alive while he ate away at the accumulated power inside the Mirror. The zombies weren't as fast or as intelligent as the real people they were made from, but the powers of their zanpakutos were identical. Sui-Feng was moving so fast that to the untrained eye it appeared that she was in four places at once. Kinji's muscles were straining to pull the chains back out of the Mirror and his mind was far too focused on his task to use his three remaining tails to defend himself.

Then Lin felt it. Her heart started beating far more rapidly than was healthy and there was a painful tightness in her chest. There was something less than physically tangible being pulled tight, much too tight. Her lungs just stopped working and she found herself on her knees without any memory of falling down. Pain like someone was flaying away her skin spread from the center of her chest across her entire body and sank in to the bone. Her mouth hung open in a scream deprived of breath.

Kitsunebi felt Miko stealing Lin's soul reaper powers and tugged harder at the bond. Miko would rather devour her host that have them taken from her. Kitsunebi kept it just a hair from snapping until the last dregs of power vanished and Miko began stealing Lin's life. Kitsunebi tore the flimsy connection apart, just in time to preserve Lin's soul, if the connection hadn't been broken it would have been devoured like her powers. Lin crumpled to the ground like a puppet with her strings cut. Kitsunebi returned her energy to the more important task of extracting herself from the tightening grasp of Miko. With Kinji and Kitsunebi both working together a hostless parasite like Miko didn't stand a chance. As soon as the chains were clear of the Mirror it shrank back to the less threatening form it wore when ensnaring a new host. The small object clattered onto the paving stones in the nearly destroyed Kotetsu garden.

Kinji staggered and nearly collapsed. His plan had worked but his physical and spiritual strength had been sorely taxed. His bankai crumbled to dust and his zanpakuto clattered to the ground at his side. He hadn't expected pulling that little trick to be so exhausting, but it was worth it. The last couple of zombies turned to dust and their swords shattered when they hit the ground. Lin was down for the count and the Mirror had been rendered as harmless as it could possibly be. He was ready to call this a win and Victory tasted so sweet. "I think I enjoyed this a little too much." Kinji said with a smile. There was a lightness in his chest that just made him feel like laughing. He could see both Lin and the Mirror from where he was but Sui-Feng had a perpendicular point of view. It was the only reason she was able to save Kinji's life. A wave of blackness reached out from the woods at the edge of the gardens and tried to engulf her fiance'. She hauled him out of the way by his jacket collar, narrowly escaping the sneak attack.

"You're even faster than I was told. Someone is going to die for that." a muffled voice said from the empty space where the tree line had been. The figure was short, it's head wrapped in cloth leaving just one eye partially visible. It was wearing a masculine looking set of clothes in several shades of gray and not a hint of reiatsu was coming from it. It was as if the figure wasn't even there as far as Sui-Feng's spiritual senses were concerned. Neither she or Kinji had felt the attack coming either.

"That's-" Kinji gasped. In the figure's hand was a short length of black steel, a straight bladed sword that crackled with black energy. His theoretical third person had shown itself and was now trying to kill them. He couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. The figure decided for him by swinging that awful weapon at them once more. Everything between them and their new enemy simply vanished as the dark energy touched it. Sui-Feng vanished with Kinji in tow again, reappearing on the roof of the mansion. When the wave of destruction dissipated the figure was picking up the Mirror.

"You can have the failure. You'll all be dead soon anyway." The figure kicked Lin with bone breaking force. Then he vanished. There was no sound to indicate a high-speed movement, no blurring of his figure or appearance of a portal. He was simply gone. Two attacks with enough power to threaten the life of a Captain and Sui-Feng hadn't felt a thing. Even Lin's power, as twisted as it felt, could still be felt. Whatever power the covered figure had it was almost as if it didn't exist on the same level they did.

"That was the damn Sword!" Kinji said in a frustrated growl. "It was there. It was fifty yards away and I let it slip through my stupid, clumsy fingers!" He put his fist through the roof of his home, too angry to restrain himself. "Maybe you'd be better off if you just let me die, put me out of the world's misery." there was so much loathing and self-hatred in those words that Sui-Feng reacted without thinking. She had heard such words from many of those who served under her and she knew what would happen if she didn't address them immediately. The slap moved so fast that Kinji had to think a moment to figure out why his face hurt. Sui-Feng looked into his stunned face and spoke as clearly as she could, scorn apparent in her own expression.

"Your life doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the people who depend on you. The people who love you. You don't get to leave. You don't get to quit. You don't get to die and leave us alone." She had hauled him to his knees, the height difference made it impossible for her to haul him to his feet. It wasn't the standard speech, but Kinji had taken no oath to the Onmitsukido, he had been formally released from any bonds to the Gotei 13. But nothing short of death could sever the bonds of family,and she knew Kinji well enough to tell how much those bonds meant to him.

Kinji blinked stupidly for a second before the words hit home. He wasn't sure where along the twisted road he'd walked that he'd forgotten that simple principle but he had. The guilt only lasted a moment before his mind locked in on a very specific part of what she had said. She had used the word "us". Kinji had asked her to wait until after he told her everything to make her choice, but it seemed she already had. He opened his mouth to say something, he had to say something to that. But he glimpsed a movement over her shoulder and the more immediate situation overrode his personal situation.

"Lin's waking up." Sui-Feng dropped him and flashstepped to her fallen cousin. Her foot slammed down on the back of her neck hard enough that Kinji winced from where he was kneeling several hundred feet away.

"This was a long time coming, Lin. I hope you don't have any regrets." She removed her foot and bound Lin's hands behind her back with some kind of metallic-looking cloth. Sui-Feng hauled Lin up by her short black hair. Kinji appeared in front of her, blocking her path.

"Before you go all Torquemada on her I need her to answer a few questions first. Who the hell was that guy?" Kinji asked. Lin didn't answer. She was limp in Sui-Feng's arms, she hadn't even screamed when Sui-Feng had kicked her. Kinji had a stomach sinking thought and he grabbed her chin and forced her to make eye contact. Her eyes were devoid of anything resembling personality or conscious thought. "I think the Mirror took more than just her spiritual powers. There's a light in the window but the house is vacant." Sui-Feng groaned in exasperation and turned her cousin around to look for herself.

"It's like she's in a state of shock. I'll take her to Unohana, maybe she can get her back in working order."

"So you can torture her?" Kinji asked, not quite believing that Sui-Feng would make good on her promise. Sui-Feng looked at her cousin with eyes that were slowly turning from frozen steel to something much softer.

"If I have to. She's a traitor, a disgrace to Soul Society."

"And your cousin."

"And my cousin." Despite being a small person Sui-Feng had never really seemed weak or frail to Kinji. She had projected an aura of competence and strength with a cold edge of ruthlessness that told anyone with half a brain not to mess with her. But now, having to hold the shell of her cousin, she seemed small.

"I have to go tend to Dordonii. I'll leave Lin in your hands. Just... let me know if she tell you anything about Jiro." Sui-Feng watched him go with surprise and just a little gratitude. He had a grudge nearly as deep as hers but he hadn't even fought her for custody. Family really was the most important thing to him.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Lord Kotetsu. She came out of nowhere." The arrancar had pulled himself up to a sitting position despite the awful cut that ran from shoulder to hip and had coated his white uniform in blood. It looked black under the green light of Kinji's rudimentary healing kido. He knew enough to stop bleeding but he was going to have to call a real medic as soon as his guard was stabilized.

"Of course she did. So did the guy who nearly killed me. It's just been one of those days." He felt an itch on his left temple and reached up a hand to scratch at it. He nearly broke off his healing kido when he felt a hard, bone-like piece of material under his finger. It fell off when he pulled at it and shattered when it hit the ground but Kinji knew what it was. It was a fragment of a hollow mask.


	21. Fears and Failures

Chapter 21

Kinji was in a kind of fitful sleep on his last night in Soul Society. Half-formed nightmares clashed in his head like a horde of warriors when each believed themselves to be surrounded by enemies. Visions of Miko, the masked man, the not quite alive constructs of the Mirror, and some vast beast hidden by impossibly black shadows, mixed together to form something both more and less than a nightmare. Kitsunebi stood outside that maelstrom of fear and pain within Kinji's inner world and waited for it to subside. There was little she could do for him, her power to influence his sleepy mind was subject to severe limitations and the one at the core of all others prevented her from ending the dark storm. She could feel the anguish of his soul in the heart of that darkness but she couldn't even enter it herself to comfort him. Because he refused to allow her to do so.

Despite the pain he was in he didn't want it to end. She could feel his intellect working at the pieces of that dark puzzle with an almost insane fervor while the rest of him struggled to endure it. The questions that had been troubling him for months had been provoked into an uncertainty that reached to the very core of Kinji's being. And when he realized that the bankai form Kitsunebi had given him was somehow tied to the powers of a hollow the dam holding all his negativity and indecision in check shattered. He had limped along long enough to get Dordonii a proper medic and to say goodbye to Sui-Feng, but when he went to sleep he had fallen apart. Now he was walking on the edge of madness and striving to reach the answer he knew was there.

Kitsunebi had endured this before with Kinji's grandfather, the man she had been forged for more than 1000 years ago. Kinji was a lot like Kurama and that gave her hope for his success, but it was no less painful for that. Kitsunebi, one of the original 13 zanpakuto forged by Oetsu Nimaiya, looked on as her master attempted to overcome the danger of the original zanpakuto. A danger that existed because of the material Nimaiya had used to make those first blades. Kitsunebi, like Ryuujin Jaka, Minazuki, Hyorinmaru, and the others, had been forged from the soul of an arrancar. It was only after seeing the side-effects that the original sword smith had used the souls of shinigami to craft weapons. Though the power they produced was inevitably inferior to his original works they had no chance of consuming their wielders.

The woman who had once been Espada number 8, Kitsunebi Yagami tried to think of something she could do to aid Kinji. Unlike Kurama who had won her over through bribery and charm, Kinji had grown up with Kitsunebi at his side. She felt like a surrogate mother, or maybe an older sister who laughed when he fell down but would be there to pick him up again. She reached out to her master but the darkness burned her hand. With no other option she called up a book from memory and began reading it to him. Hopefully it would help him find his way back. "The Road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began..."

Kinji searched through the miasma of his own anger, self-loathing, and borderline despair to find the thing that would make it all reasonable. The appearance of his 3rd ringleader should have put his mind at ease and made him more sure of his path. But there was something about him, and Kinji was sure without any reason that it was a man, that had caused a sharp pain in his heart. His instincts had icked up on something that his rational mind hadn't. Now his soul was at war with itself, one side trying to put the evidence together and the other was trying to hide it. It was a stalemate, neither side could gain ground on the other. But neither could they disengage from the struggle, something Kinji couldn't identify was burning coldly in the blackness. It was driving the other side of him to efforts he'd never experienced. He had fought that side of himself before, suppressing it was the first type of training you went through in the Onmitsukido. That killing of self that was necessary before you could kill without feeling. But Kinji couldn't put that side of himself down this time, it simply wouldn't submit. And it was so much darker than before. It was almost as if something else was pitching in with it, something that didn't have it's origin in him.

The moment that thought occurred to him the darkness stopped swirling. Kitsunebi looked up from the book and drew her sword. Something was coming. She moved her feet and shoulders to take up a defensive stance as the black smoke started to coalesce into a physical shape. Kinji's form in his inner world vanished just as the darker form took definite shape. Someone in the real world had woken Kinji up. Kitsunebi cursed out loud at the poor timing, she had planned on the both of them teaming up to beat back the darkness.

"Tough luck there." The dark being commented as Kinji finished fading from view. He was Kinji if you reversed his coloring. The silver hair was black and Kinji's light grey eyes had gone deep red. He wasn't wearing a shirt or coat and all the old scars that Unohana had wiped away stood out like black stripes on ash gray skin. The teeth he showed in his smile were sharper than human teeth had any right to be. "That moralizing coward wouldn't have been able to help you anyway. He held out his hand and a matte black blade with a five pointed star tsuba appeared in his hand in a rush of eerie green flames. Kitsunebi struck first with a quick stab at his face. Silver and black steel grated together when Kinji's evil twin moved his blade to block. Blue and green flames flared and spat between the two clashing swords. He let the stab carry her in close and rabbit punched her in the side of her neck with his left fist. Kitsunebi took the hit to the throat and retaliated by slashing sidelong at his head. He caught it with the tsuba of his sword and rolled it high. His stomping kick was aimed at her stomach but he slipped right through. Kitsunebi had sidestepped along with her second sword strike but left an illusory image of herself behind to draw him off guard. She aimed her next thrust at his vertebra. But she met no resistance. His illusion was every bit as good as hers had been and Kitsunebi bought it hook line and sinker. Kinji couldn't use her powers that fluidly and she hadn't expected this version of him to be so competent and cunning. His backhanded blow sent stars rocketing across her field of vision but she kept her feet. An explosion of blue flames drove her attacker back and into the woods surrounding the temple. That was both good and bad. It bought her breathing space and time to gather her full strength but he got to disappear from sight. He would have the advantage of surprise in their next exchange.

The inferno around her grew hotter and brighter when a set of four tails sprouted from her lower back. "I existed long before you and I will exist long after you are gone, Mr. Hyde."

"Mr. Hyde. I always liked that story. I think I'll keep that name after I kill my former master." the voice echoed out from the forest in every direction.

"Kill him? No. I'm going to stop you right here and now." she said with bone deep determination.

"You must suffer me to go my own dark way." the voice said, quoting the book word for word. "And your master will be even more helpless than you."

"What do you mean?" Kitsunebi asked. The words that came from the forest next only made her determination to kill Hyde stronger. He was right, if he spoke those words to Kinji it would destroy him. If she didn't kill Hyde here then Kinji's fate would be sealed.

* * *

"Kinji, wake up!" Kiyone Kotetsu was physically shaking her brother into wakefulness. "C'mon!"

"What? What is it?" Kinji asked groggily.

"You set your room on fire!" Kinji blinked again at the absurd statement. But then he noticed a few things. First was that he was soaking wet and so was the bedding he was laying on. Second was the stink of burnt fabric and wood. Third, and most persuasive, was the blackened area around his bed and the ash dirtying Kiyone's normally immaculate white gloves.

"I did this?" Kinji asked, wiping water out of his eyes. "Why?" he asked, mostly to himself.

"I was going to ask you! What's going on Nii-sama?" Her blue eyes were locked on him with an intensity that told him he wasn't getting away without answering her.

"I'm not sure, not yet." he answered. It was the truth in the strictly literal sense. He wasn't sure of what was going on, but he was betting it had something to do with the mask fragments that had appeared the last time he used his bankai. If that hollow reiatsu had thrown him out of balance then releasing reiatsu while he was asleep would make sense.

"Lord Kotetsu?" Dordonni peeked in through the door frame.

"I'm fine. Where's little miss goth?" he asked, referring to Cirucci.

"She's on perimeter watch. But there is something else you should know." the arrancar said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" Kiyone said with embarrassed enthusiasm. "The Lieutenant is outside waiting to talk to you. C'mon, hurry up!" Kinji's littlest sister dragged him bodily from his bedroom and toward the audience hall. He managed to extract himself and enter the room with some degree of dignity despite being soaking wet and smeared with ash. He had left his coat behind so he only had the white vest and black shirt which were made of lightweight fabric that would dry after half an hour of exposure to open air. But in the mean time he just tried to ignore the fact that he was not exactly presentable.

Neliel Tu Odelschvank was looking at a picture of Hueco Mundo that Kiyone had insisted on taking after Kinji subjugated the place. In the frame with Kinji were the 5 arrancars he had liberated from Mayuri's lab as well as a dozen more he had found in Las Noches. Kinji didn't look too happy to be there but the arrancars had looked more or less delighted at the tiny Kiyone strong-arming her brother into taking a picture. Neliel hadn't noticed him entering the room so he decided to get a laugh at her expense. He moved in near perfect silence despite the wet clothes weighing him down. He brought a spell to mind and quickly swiped his finger across the white sash holding her shihakusho together. Then he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. She jerked her head up in instant, lightening speed. The white skull-like mask on the top of her head caught Kinji on the chin with a painful amount of momentum. "Oh, sorry!" Neliel apologized quickly.

"S'fine." Kinji replied through clenched teeth. "So, what did you need from me?"

"Well..." Neliel hesitated and threw another look at the picture. "You don't look very happy."

"I wasn't. Kiyone did enough damage by forcing me to take that photo that I had to spend weeks being iron-fisted just to get everyone back into line. You arrancars don't take well to being ruled." Kinji said.

"I guess most of us don't. I heard about what you did to Ebern." she made sure she could see his face when she mentioned the arrancar Kinji had tortured to death. She needed to know just who she was dealing with before she tipped her hand. Many people had assumed that Neliel wasn't the most intelligent of people. That wasn't true. She lived simply, felt without the burden of past pain. But she wasn't stupid. She knew that she had to have Kinji's measure before she extended him any trust. It had been easy in Ichigo's case and only a little more difficult in Anrak's case. Kinji was something else. Unlike Ichigo and Anrak he acted at various times like a tyrant, a trickster, a responsible and protective older brother, and a scrupulous businessman. Underneath those assumed roles was the him she needed to see. The part that told her what drove him.

Kinji was caught off guard by the name drop and it took him a moment to fix his face into the impassive mask he used when he wanted to keep secrets. But that moment was long enough. Neliel saw the shame and self-loathing in his eyes and the sickened expression on his face. That was a good sign. "And?" Kinji asked with a callous tone.

"Aizen never had to do public executions." it was possibly the least polite thing she could have said, but it was the only thing she thought would let her see Kinji as he really was. And Kinji didn't disappoint. His eyes lit with blue fire and his fists clenched at his sides for just a moment before he brought his emotions under control.

"Aizen also kept the ranks full of psychotics and sadists." Kinji was not a happy person, having a former Espada comparing him to Aizen was bad enough. But Neliel had basically said he was worse.

"True." The arrancar reflexively reached up to the part of her mask that had once been split by Nnoitra Jiruga.

"What can the ruler of the sand-heap do for you, former 3rd Espada?" Kinji was getting impatient with the whole situation. Neliel had seen enough. Kinji wasn't a heartless killer. That didn't mean he wouldn't cut you down if you were in his way and gave him no other option. He had a moral code but most of it was fixed on some ultimate goal. They would probably never be friends but she could trust him up to a point.

"I want to help look for Tia."

"Tia? Tia Halibel?"

"Yes. She's a friend and I heard you haven't found her yet." Kinji was knocked on his proverbial butt for the third time since the conversation started. He wasn't sure if it was the headache, the discomfort of his wet clothes, or a mental complacency when it came to dealing with arrancars, but she was running mental circles around him. That stopped right now.

"Not yet. If she's alive I'll find her and do what I can to bring her back to Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun. I promised them I would."

"You promised them?" Now it was Neliel's turn to rock back on her heels.

"When I took them from that sadist clown's clutches I made them an offer. I said that I would formally adopt them and they would be afforded all the protections of a member of my family. They accepted. That makes them family."

"But didn't you almost kill Doriki?"

"Dordoni." Kinji corrected. "And yes."

"But you said he was your family?" Kinji winced. After a moment of silence he stepped foot on that particular road..

"It wouldn't be the first time I killed a family member." Kinji admitted. Neliel smiled, believing it to be a kind of deadpan joke. Rangiku had taught her about dry humor a while back and she thought she had the hang of it. But when Kinji didn't smile back she felt her stomach drop a little. He had killed a member of his own family? The arrancar woman tried to imagine killing Pesche or Dondochakka but just the thought of it was revolting. Kinji saw the horror and flinching disgust on Neliel's face when she processed what he had just admitted to. The pang of self-pity in Kinji's heart was so familiar it was almost hared to tell he'd felt it. That look had shaped his life. It was the first expression that flashed across the faces of his family when they saw him. It was the look people reserved for something that had moved beyond the boundaries of humanity. Almost everyone looked at him like that after they knew what he'd done. Isane, Kiyone, Haru, they all looked at him like that from time to time. The only person who knew what he had done and didn't look at him like that was Sui-Feng. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to her.

"You're lying." Neliel said with some confidence. She had taken his measure and she didn't believe he could do something like that.

"I really wish I was." Kinji said. Seeing the hardening disbelief in the arrancar's brown eyes he decided to disabuse her of that illusion. He wasn't sure why but it might have been something as simple as controlling the conversation. "I murdered my father, Yukimura Kotetsu, almost 150 years ago. I had a very good reason for doing it but the facts are clear. He was my father, I loved him more dearly than my own life, and I put my zanpakuto through his heart." Neliel swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She had misread Kinji Kotetsu, or read him too shallowly. He wasn't just oriented to an ultimate goal, he was so fixated on it that he would burn anything in his way to get it, even the people he loved most. And if she had interpreted his actions correctly, he would even sacrifice his own life for that goal. Whatever it was.

Kinji watched the slow change come over her, her expression resolved itself into a chilly, level stare, her posture shifted slightly. She was putting herself on guard in case she needed to attack or defend. Not that he blamed her.

"If you want to help search for Tia Halibel I won't stop you. Despite being part of the Gotei 13 you're still an arrancar. You have my permission to come and go from Hueco Mundo as you please. I'm sure Apache and the others would be more than happy to help you. Now, if that's all you wanted I have other things to attend to." There was a part of him that was screaming he should kill her. That she had seen something she shouldn't have. He pushed the paranoia away and watched her leave the room without turning her back to him.

"That was rude even for you." Kiyone said after Neliel had left.

"I'm not in the mood, little sister." Kinji said. He was packing up a few things for the trip back to Hueco Mundo. Kiyone went wide-eyed at the way he avoided using her name. He'd never done that before.

"She's my Lieutenant! You didn't have to-" Kinji's anger and frustration flared up in him before he could hold it back.

"Shut up!" He came to his feet and hauled Kiyone up to his eye level. The powerful movement was accompanied by a flare of reiatsu that blackened the floor under his feet. It was reaction that came without thought or particular intent. And it took a moment for Kinji to realize what he'd just done. He saw the fear in his sister's eyes and lowered her slowly back to her feet. "I'm sorry, I-" a spike of pain drove into the back of his skull and his knees hit the floor. Kiyone was forced to step back when the blue fire started flickering in the air around her brother. The fire didn't last long, but when Kinji looked back up she almost screamed. His right eye was blood red with a black sclera and a piece of bone-white material was covering his right cheek.

"Oh my God. Kinji!" she helped her brother to his feet.

"Kiyone, go get my guards. I'm leaving for Hueco Mundo immediately." his sister took one look at his expression and did as he asked.

_Kinji...I'm sorry._ Kitsunebi's voice sounded clearly in his thoughts.

_**What is it? Kitsunebi?**_ He didn't receive an answer. He felt a rush of power that made his head swim and another flare of blue fire cut off his vision for a moment. When the curtain of fire parted he saw the zanpakuto spirit impaled through the stomach onto one of the torii gates in front of the temple in his inner world. She was clinging onto life but the constant drip of blood onto the ground told him she was already past the point of saving. As his eyes followed the blood down he saw himself standing under the crimson rain and basking in it. When his doppelganger turned to look at him Kinji was treated to his own personal nightmare. What he saw wasn't just a reflection of himself in a dark glass, it was the image of what he could be if he ever lost sight of the road he was walking. His double grinned at him with teeth stained red by Kitsunebi's blood. "Wait your turn." the black Kinji said and waved his hand. The inner world faded and the real world replaced it once more. He found himself being guided outside by Dordoni and Cirruci toward the open maw of the garganta. He reached for his face and discovered, to his growing horror, that the mask had started covering more of his face.

"Hurry." He ordered the two arrancars. He was hollowfying and he didn't want to be anywhere near vulnerable people when he lost control. And he knew with every pulse of energy and pain that he was losing control. They were through the portal and stepped out onto the white sands of Hueco Mundo and into the fake sunlight of Las Noches. Kinji snapped his fingers three times which set off the all hands alarm. If the rest of the arrancars decided to obey his standing orders then they would be there and ready to fight in less than a minute. He pulled the control bracelet off and crushed it, Akon could make him another one and he didn't want that black version of himself to get out of Hueco Mundo if it took complete control. He lost vision in his right eye and he lost feeling in his right arm. "I need you to contain me." he said once everyone who could fight was present. "Try not to kill me if you can help it." A surge of power thickened the air around him and melted the sand under his feet to glass.

"Shit, did you feel that?" Apache said, looking concerned. Kinji's power had been growing since he came to Hueco Mundo as a result of the near constant fighting, but the spike of power they had all just seen put their own raw strength to shame.

"Of course we did. But not everyone takes advantage to show off her foul mouth." Sun-Sun replied.

"This really isn't the time to goad her, Sun-Sun!" Mila-Rose drew her sword and the other arrancars began doing the same. "Someone, go get Grimmjow!" she yelled at one of the soul reapers once Kinji was too far gone to countermand her.

"B-but he's under lockdown on Lord Kotetsu's orders."

"And if you want to live long enough for him to give you more orders you'll go get Grimmjow now!" the lab rat ran back inside the main building with as much speed as he could manage. Aoki watched him go with a slightly sickened look.

"That's going to bite us in the ass later." he commented. "But you're right, we're going to need some serious help."

"Are you all insane?!" one of the arrancars stading at the back of the crowd yelled. "Kill him now, before he gets any stronger." The arrancar drew his own spike-shaped zanpakuto and used sonido to get close. But before he could drive the weapon home he was hit by no less than five balas and even more kido spells. The unfortunate hollow ended up splattered on the white sands like a bucket of red paint that had taken a blast from a shotgun. The arrancars that fired them did so for many and varied reasons. Dordoni did so because he owed Kinji a degree of personal loyalty for overlooking established laws to keep him alive, Cirrcuci did it because she didn't want to see Hueco Mundo fall back into the savage infighting that had been daily fare before Aizen brought stability. Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun had come to like Isane during her short tenure as steward of Hueco Mundo and Kinji still had to help them find Halibel. And all of them were aware of what he'd risked to protect them from the wrath of the Gotei 13. Even among hollows there was a balancing of favors given and owed, and they were deep in his debt. The soul reapers did so because they had pledged loyalty, and despite a few examples to the contrary, they were creatures of order. Despite what Kinji constantly lamented about Hueco Mundo, it really wasn't as far out of control as he believed.

Kinji had started screaming, completely oblivious to the things happening around him. The mask had grown over the entire right half of his face and both of his eyes were now the red on black of a hollowfied soul reaper. The dense energy he was exuding was making the air tense and heavy with the pungent smell of molten glass. The shape of his body was no longer clear because of the heat waves distorting the air around him but the feeling of malevolence told everyone that Kinji wasn't Kinji anymore. Then the screaming stopped and everyone drew in a breath. The masked Kinji stood up and looked slowly around. There was a tension hanging in the air now that Kinji had...left the building, so to speak. They had all expected an attack the moment Kinji lost consciousness and the hollow gained control. The arrancars knew all too well how the mind of a hollow worked, and the sol reapers had all been shown the footage of failed hollofications that Aizen had left behind Hueco Mundo's archives. So why was this creature simply watching them? It should have been experiencing a hunger that drowned all thought and reason and compelled it to tear into the nearest creature. But it stood and watched, like some patient animal measuring the distance for a leap towards it's prey.

They all stayed still for several minutes, each of them had the visceral sensation that the first one to twitch would become a target. But with each minute that ticked by Kinji's body changed more. His entire right arm had grown a thick white fur and the fingers had grown wickedly curved claws. But worse than that was the beast's steady increase in power. The longer they waited, the more it transformed, the stronger the sense of it's spiritual pressure became. The more battle savy of the fighters knew what it was doing. Strong as it was there was no way it could take on the number of capable fighters assembled to keep it contained. It clearly intended to bide it's time until it felt it had a good chance of winning the eventual confrontation. And they were right, it would have waited for it's transformation to be more complete before attacking, but something happened that broke the silent tension.

"Nii-sama?" a voice from the back of the crowd asked in disbelief. Isane Kotetsu, the steward of Las Noches, was supposed to remain in the throne room and provide ongoing orders. But when one of the research techs had come rushing in saying that he had orders to release Grimmjow from his cell she hadn't been able to simply sit idle. So she accompanied the tech and a heavily bound Grimmjow to the impromptu battlefield to see what was going on. The creature's head whipped toward Isane and he sprang. There was no technique involved, neither flash step or sonido, but the speed was almost more than the eye could follow. Isane drew her sword by reflex in order to block but the creature's claws snapped the zanpakuto and tore jagged gashed in her side. The blood on the sand was like a match dropped into a puddle of gasoline. The small army exploded into violence that bordered on the supernatural. Dordoni landed a kick to the hollow's ribs and propelled it 30 feet into the air. Apache was there with hands clasped above her. She drove the creature back down into the main crowd of Las Noches' fighting force with enough momentum to make a crater in the sand. Aoki and Mila-Rose converged on the newly formed pit like two halves of a scissors.

* * *

Kinji was fighting his own battle when Isane was injured. He hadn't bothered asking about the why and how of his predicament, he knew a battle for dominance when he saw it. His sword clashed with a blackened copy of his own as he and his double went at each other like rabid dogs. There was no finesse, no technique at all involved in the opening exchanges. Kinji hated this creature so deeply there were no words for it. It had no only killed Kitsunebi but reveled in the act of murder. It was everything he loathed about life and it had wronged him by killing someone he had known since he was a child.

Black Kinji, or Hyde as he preferred to be called, despised his counterpart in nearly equal measure. In his eyes Kinji was weak, cowardly, and too blinded by the bonds he had to see where his actions would lead him. He could put three worlds under his heel if he would just see the opportunity! But he was too moralistic to even consider it. It was downright pathetic!

They disengaged at the same time, Kinji took the high ground on the temple steps while Hyde was at the bottom of the steps. "You didn't use your bankai. Why not attack with all the power you could as soon as you saw me?" Hyde taunted. Kinji didn't bother responding to the question.

"Bankai!" the four tails sprouting from his lower back waved and darted with barely contained energy. Kinji rode the edge of his anger and rushed Hyde, fully intending to impale him with the iron-furred tails and tear him into sections.

"Bankai." Hyde said with disdainful slowness. Black-furred tails caught the silver-furred ones in a tangle of steely spikes. Kinji didn't hesitate, he aimed a punch at his double's throat to crush the demon's windpipe. The fist was stopped cold by one of the black tails before it could connect with it's intended target. This time Kinji did hesitate. How could there be a tail blocking his punch while all four of his tails were entangled. His disbelieving eyes darted to each black tail and his heart twitched in sudden panic when he finished his count. Hyde had five tails to his four. He tried to disengage and put distance between them but Hyde held his tails in a deathgrip. The fifth tail plunged into his gut and the pain made his vision glaze red for a moment. The tail felt cold and the chill spread to his stomach then his chest. He struggled to hold onto the concentration he needed to manipulate his bankai but the cold was leeching his mental strength. He felt one of the four tails disappear, the physical form crumbling into cold ash. "You are such an idiot." Hyde commented. Kinji was about to ask what he was talking about when he saw the ash flow into Hyde and a sixth black tail sprouted from his back.

* * *

Aoki and Mila-Rose barely knew what happened when the two tails pierced the cloud of sand and struck them. The two warriors were knocked hundreds of yards through the air and both of them felt the cracked and bruised bones those hits had produced. They had been lucky, the iron-hard fur had been laying flat, not turned into spikes or blades so they survived what could have been a lethal blow. The other fighters who had been converging on the downed creature stopped short out of sudden caution. Their caution failed to keep them from harm as Kinji leaped out of the pit and his six tails speared toward the closest targets.

Isane held her side as the healing kido knit the muscle and skin together. She was one of maybe five people in the entire Seireitei who could use kido to repair serious injuries to her own body, not just because of her exceptional skill, but because of her ability to block out pain. Consequently, she was able to see the battle taking place. The fury and total disregard for life that her brother was showing as he plowed through the crowd. Bodies went flying through the air, several of them were on fire, and his previously white fur was taking on a bloody shade of red. The mask was spreading over Kinji's face faster than just a few moments ago. And the power. Isane felt a shudder go down her spine as the level of energy ratcheted up another notch. She looked over at Grimmjow, still cuffed and bound by several kido spells, and made her choice. She had ordered the lab tech not to release him because Grimmjow would happily kill Kinji if given the chance. But now, she wasn't sure if Grimmjow could kill him. But the former Espada would definitely keep him busy. She limped over to him and drew a complicated symbol on the linkage point between the spells that held him in check. The moment his bonds went slack he exploded into motion, tearing the spells apart so they couldn't be re-linked. When he broke through the cuffs his own power saturated the area.

Grimmjow, upon freeing himself, decided the appropriate thing to do was grab the woman who freed him by the throat. "You damn soul reapers! I'm going to kill every last one of you!" He tightened his grip on Isane's throat, indicating that he was willing to start with her. He would have snapped her neck if a body hadn't gone flying just past the two of them and made him look in Kinji's direction. The hollowfied soul reaper met the arrancar's eyes and recognized a more interesting toy. "And I'm going to start with you." Grimmjow growled, flinging Isane away. He grabbed his zanpakuto from where the lab tech had dropped it and charged. He drew his zanpakuto and released it midway to the soul reaper who had beaten him, not once but twice, and thrown him in a dungeon. "Grind, Panterra!"

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait but my schedule isn't getting any easier. As much as I love writing this kind of stuff my more functional work takes priority. Between term papers, doctoral program applications, home life, and my ordinary homework I am dangerously close to abandoning sleep. I won't be able to reliably produce new chapters until the middle of December. That being said, I do hope to put out at least once more chapter between now and then. **

**On another note I've already gone past the length of story I had originally planned to write. I'll probably need at least 5-10 more chapters to finish this story properly. One of these days I'll figure out how to fit 28 hours into a day but until then you'll have to bear with me on the long waits between updates. As always I appreciate feedback and constructive criticism.**


	22. Fox and Father

Chapter 22

Grimmjow was having difficulty getting close to his target. The speed needed to bypass four tails was substantially less than what he needed to sneak past six. Hollow Kinji used the tails to construct a whirling barrier of steely spikes. And the lashing power of the tails had very nearly doubled from their earlier match. The tails still couldn't pierce Grimmjow's form-fitting armor but the arrancar could feel the blows even through the white plates covering his arms and torso. Grimmjow growled in rage and practically threw himself into the maelstrom of lashing tails and a shower of sparks hid him from view. Hbe felt the spikes gouge his cheek and the exposed part of his chest but he forced his way through. He raked his claws at Kinji's throat and felt the satisfying resistance of flesh. His satisfaction was cut short when a clawed hand belonging to his opponent backhanded him and grabbed a fistful of blue hair. His neck suffered minor whiplash as he was hurled high into the air.

The other combatants had taken a big step back once Grimmjow released his zanpakuto, they had no desire to get caught up in the kind of insanity that Grimmjow was about to create. He was the Espada that signified "Destruction" but the Numeros had a different nickname for him when Aizen was running things. A name that, if Kinji had known it, he would not have repeated it in polite company. But if he had it would merely have confirmed something he already knew, Grimmjow was a portable disaster area. The fighting had already collapsed the entrance to the main hall and demolished three side-buildings, including the hot-spring. But the army was even less inclined to intervene now that the demonic looking Kinji had thrown the arrancar several hundred feet in the air.

Hollow Kinji's six tails spread around him and the tips came together in front of him, not quite touching. Blue fire began pooling into the space between the tips of the tails, spiraling into a sphere. Grimmjow managed to stop spinning about three hundred feet above the desert sands, just in time to see the blue sphere turning a nuclear white. "You think I'll let you shoot that?!" Grimmjow put his hands together and a blue-tinged black energy gathered between his palms. The audience retreated even further back when they caught sight of the Cero Oscuras. The soul reapers who didn't know what it was were dragged away by the arrancars who knew it all too well. "Move your ass!" Apache screamed at a stunned and injured Aoki. When he didn't instantly take off running she grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him out of the likely blast radius. Kinji and Grimmjow fired at the same time letting loose energy that distorted the very atmosphere inside the dome of Las Noches. Scorching blue-white fire burned at the unbelievably dense black energy of the Cero Oscuras with great intensity while the dense cero tried to push through it through sheer weight. Energy of both kinds fell onto the battlefield in compact and explosive shards. The clash lasted only a moment before both attacks detonated about midway between Kinji and Grimmjow. The shockwave threw up so much sand that the audience couldn't actually see the full extent of the explosion. The view was quite different from Grimmjow's perspective.

"That little bastard." Grimmjow muttered. The power of that pseudo-cero was far too close to matching his own for him not to feel a few flickers of doubt. He stomped on those minor tremors and stoked his anger. "I'll tear his damn guts out and hang him with them!" He charged straight back through the fireball where the two ceros had collided and got ready to take a few wild blows from the tails. But when he emerged from the other side of the dwindling fireball Kinji, or the monster that was wearing his skin, stood idly by with a Cheshire grin. The six deadly appendages were all waiting behind him without waving or moving as they normally would. Grimmjow decided not to look a gift corpse in the mouth and slashed at Kinji's abdomen. He felt no resistance at all, and he saw the illusion for what it was when his right shoulder passed cleanly through the figure. But that small window of opportunity was all Hollow Kinji needed to line up his next attack. A huge, black bladed war ax crashed down on Grimmjow's back and a pillar of blue fire engulfed them both.

Aoki and Apache had taken cover behind a section of wall sticking out of the sand not that far from the fight. "Thanks for the hand." Aoki told the arrancar.

"Ah, shut it." Apache groused, not used to being thanked for anything. "Keep your eyes on the fight, moron. I think Grimmjow just bit it." The pillar of fire died down and she hadn't seen the panther-like arrancar somehow dodge the attack so she assumed he'd taken the heavy hit full on. And despite him being an Espada she doubted even he could walk away from something like that without serious damage. Hell, she could feel the heat from where she was watching, and that was about as close as she wanted to get.

"No, he's still alive." Aoki said after actively searching for Grimmjow's spiritual pressure. He found it, still as strong and violent as it had been when the fight started. "I think things are about to get a lot more hazardous."

Massive blue spikes thrust themselves upward out of the sand and through Kinji's stomach. "You think you can kill me like that!You're just a fake!" Grimmjow shouted in triumph as his Desgaron pierced his enemy and he saw Kinji's blood decorate the smoking crater. It was the first real triumph he had experienced since the fight began and, despite the huge slash across his back left by Kinji's ax, it tasted exquisite. The hollowfying soul reaper looked at the blue claw piercing him in confusion. His hand swept over it and came away red with his blood. The color stood out starkly against the white fur covering his arm and he stared at it. A low reverberating growl started building in his chest as the creature realized what had just happened. Unlike the slash to it's throat, which healed almost instantly, this was a serious injury and was being kept open by the reishi construct. The growl built until it erupted into a screeching roar so harsh and hateful that it cast a shadow over the hearts of all those present, even Grimmjow's. The tails slashed down with fury and vigor, shattering the pillar of forged reishi that was Desgaron. It shattered like cheap glass and Kinji was free. The moment the spike left his body his high-speed regeneration sealed the wound but left a hole the size of a large fist just below his ribcage. The smile on Kinji's face had been replaced by a murderous scowl. He reached back to one of the tails and pulled out the chain, Tsumibukai Tetsu. With a flick of it's wrist he entangled the other five tails. Unlike Kinji this creature operated on instinct. It grasped the true nature of the bankai and how to use it most effectively.

Grimmjow shook off the tinges of fear and slashed at the pseudo-hollow with the nine remaining claws of his most powerful technique. In one perception shattering instant all nine of the reishi claws were smashed into tiny pieces. Hundreds of feet of chains spiralled and twisted through the air so quickly they were barely even a blur. Grimmjow reacted quickly and used sonido to move himself a hundred yards to the right. Or he would have if the chain hadn't stopped him halfway. The world jerked itself upside down and Grimmjow was flung into the air and wrapped by the chains. Hollow Kinji appeared in the air before Grimmjow and gave him one sinister smile before yanking on the chains wrapped around his hands. Grimmjow had a moment for his mind to register two important facts. The first was that Kinji had used flash step, something he hadn't done in their previous fight no matter the attacks sent against him. Second, he hadn't seen any tails behind Kinji. He dimly recalled that each tail became a weapon just before each of the five weapons slammed into him, shattering his armor and piercing his flesh. The ax, Sekai no Hocho, slammed into his back, forming an X over the previous wound. The spear, Ryugoroshi no Yari, pierced his stomach. The katana that closely resembled Kitsunebi's original form stabbed his right shoulder from back to front. The black blade that had appeared when Kinji's darkness had taken form, Chishi Kyogi, slid through his right shoulder from front to back. The fifth weapon was Inari no Kama, a slender-bladed scythe that pierced through both of Grimmjow's legs just above his reverse-jointed knees. The whole thing was over in less than 3 seconds and the army looked on in horror and amazement. Hollow Kinji had just demolished the former Sexta Espada in mere moments and he'd made it look so easy. He hadn't just taken him out either, he'd crushed Grimmjow's strongest attack, caught him while he was running, and mortally wounded him before he could even try to fight back. And none of them could approach Grimmjow's level of power. They knew, with no room for doubt, that they were overmatched. And that was before the creature sprouted two more tails.

#

An explosion of blue fire forced Hyde to retreat from Kinji before he could finish devouring his power. But Kinji was left with only one tail and Hyde had eight. The hole Hyde had punched in his gut had vanished when they broke away from each other. Hyde ran into the forest and Kinji ducked back into the wreckage of the temple. Kinji didn't know how his evil twin had done it but Hyde had stolen the majority of his power. Well, the majority of his zanpakuto's power at any rate. He didn't feel weaker in terms of physical strength or his spiritual pressure. But getting close enough to Hyde to engage in close combat had become a purely theoretical exercise. Those eight tails could turn him into a bloody skeleton before he got into arm's reach. He knew what the smart thing was, get distance and tangle Hyde with binding spells. But the anger at what he had done to Kitsunebi demanded a more personal type of violence, it necessitated beating the mirror image of himself to a smear on the ground. He pushed back against the emotion and forced his mind to start piecing together a plan of attack. Angles and chants spun around like flies inside his head until a more workable solution took shape.

Kinji transformed his only tail into the katana that looked like Kitsunebi's sealed form. With no tails left he was practically defenseless, but without the weight tying him down he could use flash step again. And that advantage in mobility was the only way he could possibly survive the next exchange. He could feel Hyde in the woods, that much power was impossible to mask. "Hainawa!" a cord of crackling yellow energy shot out into the woods and wrapped itself around Hyde's waist. A tail quickly severed the cord but the damage was already done. Using the end of the cord as a focus Kinji cast his next binding. "Rikujokoro!" Six rods of light slammed into Hyde's midsection and caused momentary partial paralysis. It took 10 seconds of slow movement for his tails to shatter the spell. And that was more than enough time for a double incantation. It wasn't a techinique Kinji had used much before but Yamamoto had insisted he pursue advanced kido training while he was in Division 1. He was glad for it now, stripped of his bankai and unable to fight in close combat, it was the only thing that might let him salvage this disaster. He called out the first spell and points of black energy appeared on the ground around Hyde. The kido caused a heavy gravitational field to restrict the target's ability to move. And the spell that followed would drop five iron pillars onto Hyde with a greatly increased weight due to the first spell. "Gochutekkan!" He saw his enemy get crushed under the weight and thrash weakly. Kinji felt a numbness in his arms and legs, a side effect of the rapid use of high level spells draining his power.

Kinji approached the downed enemy cautiously. He knew better than to take things at face value after using that tendency against his enemies. He knew better, but his anger flared up and he flash-stepped forward to make the kill. His sword swept down in a vicious arc to slice through Hyde's neck. The blow dispelled the illusion and Kinji realized his mistake just before it became fatal. He was halfway into an evasive flash step when a black tail sliced into his left side. The wound was shallow but because of the way the tail struck he was missing a hand sized patch of skin. He reappeared 40 feet behind Hyde who was completely clear of two of the most powerful binding spells in Kinji's repertoire.

"This is pathetic." Hyde said. "It's like you don't understand anything about your zanpakuto. Deception is at the heart of who you are, and unlike you I revel in it. But you're too scared of being like Aizen to really take advantage of your strengths. Or maybe you just spend so much time lying to yourself about what you are to have the energy to lie to other people." Hyde punctuated the end of each accusation with a stab from one of the tails that fell just short of hitting Kinji. He was forced to bob and weave away from each attack or risk his double following through and skewering him but the movement caused him considerable pain. "No, I know what it is." Hyde said with an evil grin. "You've been indulging yourself in Sui-Feng's non-judgement and trying to convince yourself that you're something else. That you aren't the killer of your own kin." A black tail put a few shallow cuts onto Kinji's left cheek when he was slow in moving out of the way. "You're a murderer. You've killed so many but you don't care. You haven't cared since that night when you stabbed the man who raised you in the heart." It was goading him, Kinji knew. But, to the anger and self-loathing that Kinji felt rising like bile, that logic meant less than nothing. He wanted to punch his double in the head until he was choking on his own teeth. He needed to silence the accuser by any means necessary, if only to silence the accusations his own heart made against him. He was dancing on the knife edge of control when Hyde pushed him over the edge. "I wonder how long it will be? Years, months, days? None of the kills you've made since that first one had that edge, that thrill of the forbidden. Don't try to deny it, I felt it when you did." The wide grin that split his face grew to grotesque proportion. "Maybe if I kill Isane or Kiyone I'll get that same feeling." Kinji snapped. His sword burned hotter than it ever had before, transitioning from a bright blue to magnesium white, and he charged his enemy without hesitation. The sheer heat rolling off his better half gave Hyde pause. But only for a moment.

Kinji's sword parried the first tail that stabbed at his head and the second that stabbed at his guts. He even picked off the third which had tried to pierce his neck from behind. But three tails is not eight. Hyde hit him five times, three times in the legs and twice in his left arm. The pain barely registered to Kinji's rage fogged mind but there were limits that simple emotion couldn't overcome. His legs folded under him and he stabbed his sword into the ground to stay upright. He couldn't close his left hand onto the sword hilt anymore so he could only keep himself partially propped up. "Yeah, weak in mind and body. You don't deserve your life. So I'm going to take it and actually use it for something instead of tossing it in the trash heap for people you don't like and in service of someone you never met." Hyde said, venting his disgust and drawing his own black sword from one of the tails. Kinji couldn't get his body to move properly and every attempt brought on a burst of shuddering agony that he could feel through the red haze of his anger. He didn't have any kido spells he could use that would be able to beat a sword slash to the punch. The rational portion of his brain resigned itself to being killed as Hyde swung the sword toward his neck. Kinji struggled in vain to rise to his feet, spitting curses at Hyde. Then his enemy paused midswing. No, he didn't pause, he was frozen. Before Kinji could even try to take advantage his vision went black.

When his sight returned he was standing on the Kotetsu Manor grounds at night, the sights around him visible only by the light of the full moon and stars. He wasn't wounded anymore, wasn't in any kind of pain. For a moment he didn't know what was going on, then he realized exactly where he was. This was the original garden, the one that had existed before the attack on the manor had required them to be replaced. The garden where he had killed his father. The thought almost triggered a panic attack. He had avoided the place since the murder, and that was exactly what he thought of the incident, that he had deliberately murdered his own father. The Kotetsu family's code of familial loyalty only made his guilt worse. While Miko had been his zanpakuto the guilt had been mitigated by the spirit, she hadn't wanted a broken shell for a host. But since Kitsunebi had been freed he had avoided dwelling on the event because whenever he did his perspective on life shrank down to the blood on his hands.

But there he was, in a place that no longer existed.

"What are you doing, boy?" The voice rang distant bells in Kinji's memory, a voice he had known so well but had faded with the passage of a century and a half. Kinji turned around and saw his father, Yukimura Kotetsu, standing in the middle of the garden. He appeared just how Kinji remembered him on that night, dressed in the white cape designating the head of a noble house and bearing the Mirror under one arm. And he was taller than Kinji by a bit, clearly the genetic source of Isane's unusual height. His silver hair was threaded with black strands and his skin had become a pallid and unnatural white. Kinji felt an otherworldly fear standing in his father's presence, a result of Miko's evil power, he could see that now that he had experienced it for himself. His father had stronger features than he did, like the difference between a wolf and a fox. But the eyes were almost exactly the same, unusually narrow and gray. But where Kinji's eyes always held a little mischief and mayhem, Yukimura's eyes were cold and desolate.

He looked on his son as if Kinji were a thing, an inanimate object with no business being where it was. "What's going on? I-I killed you."

"Killed me?" Yukimura huffed. "You've developed quite the unpleasant imagination, boy. Now leave, unless you want to help with the Rite." Kinji said what he remembered saying on the worst night of his life.

"Please don't do this, Dad." he pleaded one last time with full knowledge of what his father's response was going to be. He didn't bother trying to dodge the backhand that knocked him off his feet.

"Be quiet." Yukimura snapped his fingers and the torches placed around a complex design caught fire. "I have something important to do." The sheer lack of emotion made the formerly warm and caring voice seem wrong. Like some machine was speaking in his father's voice.

"Spark, Kitsunebi." Kinji whispered as soon as his father placed the Mirror in the center of the design. This was the moment. This was the choice that would define the whole of his life. And just like back then, he saw no alternative before him. His father was more powerful than him, and he had the Mirror. He couldn't risk a failed attempt, he couldn't try for a non-lethal solution, and if he allowed this ritual to proceed then everyone would die. His sisters didn't really understand what was happening, his mother was paralyzed by indecision, and he had the kind of ability that made him perfectly suited for what he was about to do. His father, that man that had raised him, who had taught him to hold a sword and given him his first taste of good alcohol, had to die for the rest of his family to live. He turned the torch lights blue with his power and his father began to turn around to beat him again. Kinji never gave him the chance. Kitsunebi's blade sprouted from Yukimura's chest just to the left of his sternum. He died in utter confusion because Miko had convinced him of his own immortality after 100 years of brainwashing. The idea that someone could kill him hadn't entered into his calculations. Even now his brain couldn't produce the idea that he had received a mortal injury.

Kinji felt warmth covering his hands and yanked the sword out. He let his zanpakuto fall from his hands as the disgust washed over him, staining his soul like the blood was staining his skin. His hands looked black in the bright moonlight and he was surprised how much blood was on his hands from a single wound. His face felt wet with tears and his throat constricted. Now would come the tears and the horrible body-wracking sobs, Kinji thought. But that wasn't what happened this time. This time his father's body sat up from where it had fallen.

"Well, at least you remembered to put your weight into the thrust." his father told him, making him recall swordplay lessons the older man had given him while he was barely old enough to hold a blade steady. "It's good to see you Kinji." Kinji couldn't believe it. This wasn't what had happened! After he killed Yukimura the Mirror had flown at him under it's own power and merged with him. Then he had rammed his own zanpakuto through his chest in desperation to keep himself from becoming what the Mirror had made his father. Now his jaw hung open and his eyes blinked rapidly to assure themselves they weren't hallucinating.

"You're dead!"

"I was dead a while before you stabbed me. I was swallowed by the Mirror and when you took your zanpakuto back from it you took a few pieces of the Mirror with it. A shadow of my soul was part of it, and when you mingled your power with the Mirror a second time you managed to energize parts of what you took."

When he had taken Lin down he had felt Kitsunebi connect herself to the Mirror, but if she pulled in some of its power then it was no wonder everything had gone haywire. His hollowfication, the emergence of Hyde, the twisting of this memory. Now it all made sense.

"Now, I think it's way past time we had a father-son chat." Yukimura said.

#

With the possible exception of Grimmjow there hadn't been any casualties in the ongoing battle between the creature Kinji had become and the small army of arrancars and soul reapers. Lots of injuries and there were a few who might need reconstructive surgery but no actual fatalities. This lead Aoki to the rather grim conclusion that the hollow was playing with them. And he had a feeling that it would kill all of them as soon as it got bored. What it had done to Grimmjow was evidence that it could fight far better than it currently was.

He scanned the battlefield to see what kind of support he still had. The five arrancars that Kinji had plucked from Mayuri's clutches were still in play and so was Kyoko, but most of the rest of the group were injured or too weak to be anything but cannon fodder. "I think Grimmjow might be dead this time." he said to Apache.

"No shit." the arrancar said. She was holding some kind of chakram-like weapons and staring right at the hollowfied Kinji. "Damn it, if I could just get over to those two idiots we might be able to turn the tables."

"Turn the tables? How?"

"None of your business. Not like I can get to them anyway." Aoki pondered that for a moment.

"Cross, Fuun Neko." Aoki's zanpakuto transformed into a clawed glove. "I can give you a few moments to get there. Just promise you can actually do what you're saying you can." Aoki flash stepped out from behind his cover and right in front of Kinji. There wasn't much left that would allow a person to identify the creature as Kinji Kotetsu. "You want some entertainment? Let's have some fun." Green energy flickered over the claws of his weapon. He used them to block the tail that would have stripped the flesh off his ribs and the green energy soaked into the white fur. He slashed at it twice more in quick succession and more green energy flowed into the creature's tail. Then he took off running. Kinji took up the chase immediately and closed at an alarming rate. He had almost caught Aoki when something very strange happened. Hollow Kinji tripped over nothing and went tumbling headlong into a pile of rubble at the base of one of the storage buildings. Aoki managed to dive out of the way and not get tangled in the twisted ball of tails that rolled past him.

"He's got a pair on him." Apache said appreciatively. She used three bursts of sonido to get her over to Mila Rose and Sun-Sun.

"It's about time you got with the program." Sun-Sun said.

"Now is not the time! We need Ayon now!" Mila Rose shouted at both of her fellow Fracciones. She half expected them to argue with her but something about the tone of her voice, firm but threaded with a bit of panic, reached past their normally combative attitudes and hit the survival oriented part of their minds. They released their weapons with minimal fanfare, no need to draw Kinji's attention before they were ready. And a good thing they had made that decision too, When the eight tails finished reducing the rubble to dust Kinji began charging another blue fire cero. The air around him was distorted by heatwaves but everyone for miles could have seen that little star being held in the air by the eight living weapons feeding more fire into it. All that power was aimed at Aoki who was kneeling in the sand barely fifty yards away. The cero, now even bigger than the one that was fired at Grimmjow, wouldn't even leave a pile of ash behind if it struck him. But Aoki had no intention of letting it get anyway near him so he had been very careful in attaching one of his claws to Kinji's white-furred leg. The chain linking the metal claw to Aoki's gauntlet was very fine, almost invisible among the shifting sands, and with so much dust and debris still hanging in the air there wasn't any change that Kinji would see it. His power was pulsing steadily through the connection and into Kinji. The peculiar power of Aoki's sword was to cause whoever was touched by his weapon to experience bad luck. The longer the contact time the worse the luck would become. Aoki maintained his connection for the better part of 30 seconds, long enough for a lethal dose of bad luck against a normal opponent. He felt the last pulse of power sink in and he disconnected the claw before he bolted. Even with the speed of his flash step Kinji was able to track his movement and shifted his aim.

Aoki was feeling the pressure now and sweat was clearly visible on his face. He knew how close to death he would have to step in order to distract Hollow Kinji long enough for Apache to play her hand. But he had been counting on his zanpakuto's power to pull his ass out of the raging inferno about to vent it's wrath. Aoki kept running and hoping his power would take effect and disrupt the cero before it was fired. But the hollow just turned to keep his aim centered on the little rodent who had managed to annoy him. It readied the shot and fired. Condensed blue fire turned everything under it to molten slag and everything it touched was reduced to burning ash. Apache and the others saw the cero and were struck dumb while the attack spent itself. The blast had cut across one of the water pumps and ate a neat hole through the machine before blasting a hole in the side of the domed fortress the size of a five story building.

When the fire finally died everyone expected Aoki to have been rendered non-existent or at least blackened and burned beyond recognition.. But the soul reaper was relatively unharmed. Well, he was rolling around in the sand trying to extinguish his burning shihakusho but other than that he was alive and well. Hollow Kinji was probably the most surprised of everyone, When the pillar of ice had popped into existence and stopped him from bringing his shot in line with his target. The ice had tried to engulf the blast along with the tails but the flames had been too hot. After the blast finished the ice had mostly melted but it had held long enough to foul the hollow's aim. When the shock wore off the hollow followed the trail of moisture with it's eyes until they locked on Isane Kotetsu standing upright with her sword drawn and released. Itegumo's triple blades were trailing snowflakes and fog as residual traces of her power passed out of the blade.

Kinji twitched his head sideways in confusion. It was a creature with little in the way of long term memory but it did recall wounding the silver-haired woman not that long ago. She shouldn't have been able to stand upright after the chunk he clawed out of her side. Yet there she was. It's attention was roughly yanked away by a massive surge of power coming from behind it. If it had failed to notice that the red light would have drawn it's attention for sure. Hanging suspended in the air was a lump of flesh glowing crimson and throwing off unreal amounts of power. The flesh heaved and twisted and grew inside the light until a hulking form with antlers and a snake tail stood on the sand. It was better than 30 feet tall and muscled like a champion body-builder. Hollow Kinji's mouth split open and exposed a forest of needle-like teeth. Someone had gone and given him a new toy. And this toy looked big enough to take all kind of damage before it died.

#

Hyde felt an enormous amount of satisfaction looking down on Kinji's broken and bleeding form. It felt natural and right. He was the stronger one, he was the one who didn't shrink from his fears. And he was the one willing to do anything to survive. This weak and pathetic creature didn't deserve to call the shots. He had never deserved it. Now it was Hyde's turn to live, to exist! He slashed down at Kinji's neck with a smile on his face. And he missed. Kinji let himself drop down to his knees and his head dropped just low enough to avoid being sliced by the black sword. Before Hyde could react to the miss Kinji conjured a kido spell in his hand and let it explode against Hyde's chest. The spell flung the black haired man through the air and back into the ruined temple. "That little-" Hyde let out a bloody cough and pushed back onto his feet. "He actually had the gall to sucker me."

Kinji appeared in the doorway a minute later with kido spells binding the wounds on his arm and legs. "Thank you." Kinji said with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. The joyous expression on his face was at odds with the dire situation and the serious wounds he had suffered. Hyde was afraid of this sudden change. He didn't understand it, didn't have any clue what could have brought this on, and he didn't like it. When Kinji was out of his mind with anger he was easy to predict and even easier to strike down. This Kinji? There was no way to know what this Kinji might do. "I owe you for pushing me this far. I might never have..." Kinji let out a laugh that sounded disturbingly genuine for someone knocking on death's door. Then he ignited his sword and held it in a two-handed grip. "Now, let me show my gratitude."

#

"You know, I think I'm actually starting to like those soul reapers. They're so- oh what's the word I'm looking for?" Sun-sun mused.

"Stupid?" Apache asked

"Ballsy?" Mila Rose added.

"Persistent." Sun-Sun corrected. She held one hand to the stump of her left arm to help staunch the bleeding while her regeneration sealed the wound and regrew the arm. She looked away from Aoki and Isane and back to Kinji and Ayon. Her creation was actually quite nimble for something so big and bulky. It had laid low two soul reaper lieutenants with virtually no resistance and took down two more without getting a scratch. But it wasn't faring nearly so well against a hollowfied Kinji. As quick as Ayon could be it couldn't manage to wrap it's hands around him.

Aoki appeared near the three arrancar women with the whisper of sound that characterized his particular style of flash step, sans the top half of his robe. "It's been more than an hour since this started. Akon told me that after eighty minutes the transformation will be permanent."

"And how does that lab rat know such an interesting bit of trivia?" Sun-Sun asked rhetorically.

"I don't know." Akon said honestly. "But I really hope the transformation ends before Kinji kills that thing."

"You really think he can kill Ayon?" Mila-Rose asked incredulously.

"Did you see what he did to Grimmjow, or that cero he fired at me? He's stronger than most of the current Captains right now. The only person I would trust to actually win a fight against Kinji right now would be the Captain Commander, Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto." All three women flinched when they heard that name. When Aoki put that name on par with Kinji's current state all three women began to feel nervous.

"You think he's as strong as that old bastard?" Apache asked. Aoki shot her a scoffing look.

"Of course not. But if Old Man Genocide only used his shikai then there would be a degree of parity between the two of them."

"Damn it! You pyro-soul reapers and your- gah!" Apache was almost speechless with frustration. She'd been roasted alive once and that was one time too many in her book. Aoki put a hand on her fur covered shoulder in sympathy.

"Fifteen minutes." Aoki said grimly. "If he isn't back to normal after fifteen minutes then we have to kill him. Are the three of you up for that?"

"Three? Don't you mean five?" A bruised and battered Dordoni and Cirucci appeared behind Aoki in twin bursts of static.

"Make that six." Kyoko added.

"Seven." Everyone turned to look at Isane Kotetsu.

"You don't have to be part of this, Lieutenant." Aoki said as kindly as he could.

"He's my brother. I can't just leave him the way he is now or I'll never get any sleep again." Aoki couldn't tell if she was being serious or if there was some kind of grim joke that he didn't understand.

"She wants in then she's in." Apache told him and her tone let Aoki know that there was no debate to be had. He nodded and the only fighters left looked on as Kinji started carving pieces off the chimera the Tres Bestias had created.

#

"Lady Kotetsu, what is it?" Sui-Feng asked. Haru was hiding her worry well but the commander of the Onmisukido was as adept at reading emotions as anyone alive.

"My son, Kinji. He left for Hueco Mundo very suddenly and I haven't been able to contact Las Noches since he left. I know this is a little forward of me, but could you go check on him?"

"Lady Kotetsu, I wouldn't even know how to-" Sui-Feng began. Haru cut her off with a gesture and pointed toward the garden when two marble pillars stood.

"We have a gateway prepared. Please." Haru sank her desperation into that last word and she tried not to smile when she saw the plea strike home. Sui-Feng's eyes went wide for a moment and a light blush colored her cheeks. She looked away from Haru and sighed.

"If it's just to go check on him..." Sui-Feng conceded. She would have said more but she found it difficult to formulate her thoughts when Haru caught her in a very firm hug. Withotu another word Sui-Feng was lead to the garden where a certain red-haired Captain stood impatiently.

"She talked you into going too, Captain Sui-Feng?"

"No! She didn't talk me into anything. I just don't like things going on behind my back." the diminutive assassin said coldly. The two Captains watched the air split open in front of them and saw the white sands of Hueco Mundo in the distance. "Let's get this over with." Sui-Feng said as the two of them leaped into the darkness.

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States! This will be my last update before Christmas. But I hope to make Chapter 23 in time to metaphorically tuck it under the Christmas tree. As always I appreciate any reviews or constructive criticism.**


	23. Masks and Moments

Chapter 23

"Why are you so nervous?" Sui-Feng asked when Abarai's hand kept checking the pocket in his robe.

"I'm not nervous." the Captain of Division 5 said.

"Then you won't mind if I take a look inside this box?" the shorter Captain held up a plain wooden box about four square inches big. She had taken it from Renji's pocket after the second time he checked it and left a box of about the same shape that usually occupied a spot on her belt. It was filled with a translucent white powder that could cause paralysis if inhaled, one of several poisons she kept on her person when she left her barracks in the morning.

Renji tried to grab for it but Sui-Feng wasn't having any of that. She rolled her wrist and the box disappeared into the folds of her robe. "Give that back!"

"After you tell me why it's so important." Despite her passive and disinterested mask she was a naturally nosy person. Her position as the head of a spy and assassination organization had only encouraged that natural tendency.

Renji's foot plunged through the reishi bridge when his concentration wavered and he almost pitched off the side. Sui-Feng grabbed him and pulled him back onto the bridge to keep him from falling into the void, picking his pocket to retrieve her poison, and smacked the back of his head. "Pay attention, Abarai. I don't want to tell Lieutenant Kotetsu that you decided to be too stupid to live just before you pop the question." She couldn't tell if his face turned that deep shade of red from being rescued by her or from her figuring out why he was nervous, or some combination of the two. She made the box reappear and flicked it open. Two beautiful earrings made of some pale blue crystal she couldn't identify glittered in the faint light from the reishi bridge. For just a moment her eyes sparkled and her mouth opened slightly in appreciation. Renji caught the look and seized on her moment of distraction. He grabbed the box back and closed it then slipped it back into his pocket. Now it was Sui-Fengs turn to blush. She wasn't a prissy woman by any stretch of the imagination but those breathtaking earrings had affected her profoundly by striking some deeply buried part of her. A part of her that had been waking up the closer to Kinji she became.

"I know, it's supposed to be a ring but these just seemed right." Renji said defensively. Sui-Feng didn't say a word and just kept walking toward their destination. She felt something sharp and burning deep in her chest and realized that she was jealous of Isane. She stabbed that thought in the throat and buried the body way down deep. She had no cause to be jealous of Isane! Even if Kinji's sister was tall. And had a more feminine figure. And- Sui-Feng buried another corpse under her mental topsoil. What was wrong with her lately?

"Just keep moving Mr. Kotetsu." Sui-Feng said.

"Um, that's not how that works." Renji replied.

"You're marrying into one of the Four Great Noble Houses, Abarai. That's exactly how that works. So get used to people calling you Captain Kotetsu." They stepped through the exit of the garganta and into a battlefield. There were soul reapers and arrancars literally strewn across the sands in various states of injury and either unconscious or moaning in agony. No pity touched Sui-Feng's face despite the horror of the gory display but Renji scowled deeply. Something was horribly wrong in Las Noches and they seemed to be very late to the party. Sui-Feng was a far more experienced soldier than Renji and was able to take the carnage in stride. Her agile mind seized on the fact that the majority of the bodies were burned or bore a peculiar kind of slash mark. She recognized the mark and identified the one who made it in a fraction of a second.

Without a word of explanation to Renji she disappeared into a series of flash steps that put her on top of one of the towers just outside the main hall room. From that vantage point she was able to see a huge hulking monster towering over an eight tailed monster covered in white fur and shrouded in blue fire. The reiatsu was more dense and carried a sense of bloodlust that was animalistic and unthinking, but she could still tell that it was Kinji. The same Kinji whom she had grown close to, whom she had spent nights with and shared secrets with. The man who looked at her like she was beautiful and desirable. And now he was buried somewhere beneath a monster who delighted in causing pain and death. An old familiar pain lanced her heart and almost brought her to her knees. It was the same pain she had felt when Lady Yoruichi had abandoned her almost a century ago. But she didn't fall. The pain was familiar and it didn't create weakness, just anger. Anger at Kinji for going AWOL like he had. Anger at being kept out of the loop by everyone who should have told her what was happening. And anger at her own helplessness most of all. There was nothing she could do to get Kinji back from what he'd become. She could kill, she could interrogate, she could interrogate with enthusiasm, she could neutralize and retrieve individuals. But she couldn't do something as involved as reversing hollowfication and the only person who could... _**Damn Kisuke Urahara!**_ Sui-Feng thought savagely. He was probably responsible for this mess. If he was then Sui-Feng was going to pay him a visit and she was going to bring along her field interrogation kit!

But her anger was tempered somewhat when she saw the brilliant display of teamwork that was keeping the white beast at bay. A curtain of ice crystals whipped around the hollow and obscured the team attacking it but allowed the soul reapers and arrancars to see their target in brief glimpses which allowed them to attack. Aoki was darting in and just nicking it with his gauntlet claws and driving more of his eerie green power into the hollow. He had to retreat immediately or the tails would have torn him to pieces. For all his speed and agility they would have, if Kinji hadn't been using most of them to fend off the blades of Golondrina, Cirucci's Resureccion. Every so often a bala would burst through the snow and ice to sting the hollow's face or neck. The three arrancar women were kneeling by the bloody mess of their pet, the massive beast that Sui-Feng had seen swat Lieutenants like flies was more or less a pile of chunks and a large red stain on the sand. Apache and the others were each short an arm and they were trying to harvest some portion of Ayon's flesh to replace the limbs they had lost. A woman with a massive tetsubo used her weapon to dash a small sand dune into the hollow's face whenever it tried to leave the vortex of cold ice. It was an elegant plan, straight-forward, efficient, and entirely non-lethal. Sui-Feng glanced at Isane who seemed to be taking her position as Steward of Las Noches very seriously and doing an exceptional job at it. The battle plan fit Isane's psychology perfectly but Sui-Feng knew that if it really came down to it she wouldn't be able to kill Kinji. Killing her own brother was something so unconscionable that even if she made the choice she would never be able to follow through with it. Neither would Aoki, Sui-Feng assumed. She didn't know who Kyoko was but she assumed the same. The arrancars might, but Sui-Feng doubted they would try once the transformation was complete and Kinji became a complete hollow. With a sick feeling that she hadn't felt since she was very young she realized what her role was here. She was the only one with the power and the will to kill Kinji if he was completely lost. She didn't want to do it, but if she had to she would use her bankai to kill him.

A shiver ran through her and left her feeling very cold. She felt so horribly alone standing on top of that building. She thought back and realized that she shouldn't have felt so isolated, she had been on her own since Yoruichi had left. _Until you met him. _Suzumebachi whispered in her head. _He trusted you and made himself trustworthy. He took the weight of loneliness off your shoulders without you ever noticing._

_**Stop that.**_

_Stop what?_

_**Making this more difficult than it should be.**_ Sui-Feng drew her sword but didn't release it. And she waited for Renji to catch up. Someone had to yank Isane out of there before she turned Las Noches into a smoking crater.

#

This was wrong! Hyde was the one with all the power, Hyde was the one with the killer instinct. So why couldn't he touch Kinji? The eight tails stabbed and lashed but drifted through the illusions Kinji spun out and never touched flesh. But Kinji had scored two solid hits on Hyde's torso and blood was dripping to the floor making the footing uncertain. He tried to back away and get some distance but Kinji kept pace with him and he nearly lost his nose to Kinji's sword. He swept four of his tails out in front of him and caught cloth but not flesh. The blur that was Kinji slammed into Hyde and the black haired man felt the hilt of a sword put a crack in his breastbone. The tails reacted to his panicked mind and attempted to shred everything in front of him but Kinji had already moved behind him. Hyde felt the point of Kinji's sword begin to slip into his lower back just to the left of his spine. Hyde reacted in the only way he could to save his life. A concussive blast of green fire engulfed them both and flung Kinji through the right-hand wall of the temple and out into the woods.

When the fire died down Hyde dropped to his knees and let out a couple of deep, hacking coughs. He sneered at the spattering of blood on the back of his hand. Kinji must have snapped a rib or knocked loose some bone shards to tear up a lung. Hyde couldn't afford to drag this out any longer or Kinji would gradually turn him into a pile of mush. How in the hell had he gotten so much stronger all of a sudden? No, that wasn't right. Hyde could still feel Kinji's reiatsu clearly and it was still weaker than his. And then there was the fact that Kinji had suddenly shown a psychotic willingness to engage him in close range combat where Hyde had the best chance of slaughtering him. Had he suddenly gone insane? The smile Kinji had plastered on his face despite the fact that he was up to his neck in disadvantages. Well, insane or not, Hyde had just the thing to crush his will to fight. Hyde used his tails to smash the hole in the wall bigger and ran after Kinji.

He didn't have to go far. Kinji was only a few dozen yards away and grinning like an idiot. Hyde hesitated to attack in the face of that perfectly self-confident expression. One look at Kinji told him the smug soul reaper knew something he didn't and he could no longer afford a misstep where Kinji was concerned. But he didn't need to physically approach Kinji to strike him. "I know who the masked man is. The one who attacked you after you captured Lin." The smile faltered a little. Kinji still hadn't solved that mystery, though it wasn't like he'd had time to properly consider what he knew before the hollowfication had started. "He seemed familiar, didn't he? Like someone you know." Hyde teased Kinji, wanting him to teeter on the edge of despair before pitching headlong into the darkness. But Kinji didn't look rattled or on edge. The only thing that had changed was that the smile had disappeared. Hyde could still see that unrecognizable emotion shining in his enemy's eyes. With a sneer, Hyde play his trump card. "Your brother is the one leading the Blood Faction. The man wielding the Sword is Jiro Kotetsu!" Hyde wasn't sure how he had expected Kinji to react but what Kinji did was something no one could have anticipated let alone understood. Kinji snuffed the flames on his sword, gripped the blade midway down and wrenched it savagely with his bare hand. A moment of straining and the blade broke with a sound like a thunderclap. Blood dripped through clenched fingers and stained the foot of steel Kinji had broken off of his sword. Hyde's jaw dropped open. That cinched it, Kinji had lost his damn mind! The deranged soul reaper lifted the bloodied piece of metal and opened his hand. There was a terrible gash in his palm with blood running freely from it to drip to the ground. But that was the only thing that hit the ground. The broken blade hung suspended in midair

"Six wings obscure the highest Throne. Ten-thousand eyes bear witness to the empty void. Three worlds tremble under the weight of the Golden Legions." The piece of zanpakuto became liquid and darkened to black. Hyde's eyes widened even more. Insane was one thing, using that kido was suicidal. He hadn't realized what Kinji was doing until the spell had begun because he hadn't even considered the possibility that Kinji would use it.

"You'll kill us both you crazy bastard!" Hyde flung green fire at his counterpart but it was drawn into the ball of deepening blackness.

"Three Beings, seven Aspects, nine ranks, twelve servants. The hand of Fate tips the bloody chalice. The darkness is torn asunder." Hyde took off running as fast as the heavy bankai would allow but he knew he couldn't get clear of the area the spell would affect. He looked back briefly and saw the growing ball of darkness begin pulling in loose debris. Kinji motioned with his hand to propel the spell into the air and toward Hyde. His voice rose to a sudden roar, almost as if the power of the spell magnified his words. "Truth is torn from the mouth of demons. Become and destroy! Destroy and bring life! Hado 94: Yoji Suta!"The ball stopped 50 yards off the ground and started sucking in everything around it. Hyde felt the gravitational pull tugging at him and the eight tails but he pressed on. When the pull became strong enough to keep him from running away he used the tails to anchor himself to the ground. Kinji was nowhere to be seen. Probably got himself sucked into the spell, Hyde thought. The smaller trees were simply ripped out of the ground and took chunks of earth with them. With every bit of matter the spell expanded and the pull got stronger. Hyde rooted his tails deep into the ground to keep himself from being pulled in but only half of them. The other four waited to protect Hyde from the next part of the spell, the far more dangerous part. The gravitational pull suddenly stopped and Hyde extracted the four tails from the ground too help guard him against what was coming next. The black fur hardened into a partial dome of solid metal. Then the world was wiped away. White light so intense Hyde was rendered completely blind even though his eyes were clenched shut and there was a wall of metal between him and the spell. The spell was burning everything around him though he couldn't see it. Hyde cowered in the shadow of his tails even as they burned him when the light heated them to scalding temperatures. He cringed away from the light of a tiny star and tried not to pass out from the pain.

Then it was over. The light died. Hyde opened his eyes but everything was just a dark blur the color of a bad bruise. Even though he was in pain he felt triumphant. He had survived one of the most destructive spells in existence. It was Kinji's trump card and he had survived in tact. He thought that right up until the otherhalf of Kinji's sword slid into his ribs. "I win you piece of shit." Kinji whispered into Hyde's ear as he twisted the broken blade and shredded Hyde's heart. Power slammed into his through his sword and he saw Hyde's tails turn to dust as eight white tails sprouted from his own back. He released the hilt of his sword to let it return to its tail form. The ninth and final tail appeared in a blaze of blue fire. The power Kinji felt reinforced the final words his father had left him. _You've been fighting for so long without hope. But I know these enemies far better than you. There is a way for you to win._ And not just win. His father had shown him a way out of the cascading series of consequences of events that would leave him dead and dishonored. Kinji had always considered himself intelligent but even the most brilliant minds sometimes fall short of what life requires of them. Yukimura's shadow, the fragment of his mind that had been devoured by Miko then extracted by Kitsunebi and awakened when Kinji's soul was thrown into chaos. There was no one and nothing else that could have given him the key to actually winning this hopeless war. Tears filled his eyes as Yukimura's final words played themselves in his mind._ I forgive you, Kinji. You're my son and I will always love you._ Stripped of the guilt that had weighed him down and armed with the knowledge bequeathed by his father, Kinji would save his little brother.

#

This next cero was going to be massive. Hollow Kinji was pouring more and more fire into the dense ball of energy. It had tired of the cat and mouse game they had been playing with him and decided to move on to bigger and better things. It's animalistic instincts combined with Kinji's skill at sensing reiatsu had found three sources of massive power outside the dome of Las Noches. It's stolen memories identified one power signature as Ulquiorra Schiffer and the other as Catalina Ixchel, the arrancar Kinji had created. But there was a third one, stronger than the other two that the hollow didn't have any memory of. It was to the south and very far away but power like that burned clear and bright to the hollow's sixth sense. It would finish the pathetic little flies and go find the source of that power.

Isane had tried freezing the hollow but any ice within 30 feet of the fireball cero melted instantly. Kyoko had gotten too close earlier and the hollow had knocked her half a mile toward the edge of the dome. Aoki was still looking for an opening to strike. Dordonii and Circuci had worn themselves out trying to penetrate Kinji's hierro and their released forms wavered on the edge of disappearing. The Tres Bestia had all been badly burned by the last cero and were laying unconscious behind Isane, which was exactly where Hollow Kinji was pointing the next devastating blast. Isane wouldn't run and leave everyone else to die, even if they were arrancars. Aoki flash stepped behind Hollow Kinjii and made one last attack and sank the last of his zanpakuto's power into the hollow's body. He flash stepped away, not because Kinji could attack him, but because just being close to Kinji for a spare second had given him second degree burns on his hands and face. His hair felt like it was going to combust if he was near that fireball any longer. When he reappeared he was next to Isane and down on one knee. Aoki had nothing left to give. He was on the edge of passing out, just like Dordoni and Ciruci, but he wouldn't have run even if he could. He had thrown his lot in with Kinji for reasons that meant more to him than his own life. He checked the watch in his pocket. Only 2 minutes left to go before the transformation was permanent. Aoki chuckled a little to himself. He had put all his eggs in one basket and it had blown up in his face. Even so, he had no regrets. Well, except the fact that he was dying as a bachelor, that fact made the impending end of his life seem just a bit pathetic.

The cero grew one last time and went silent, the indication that it was about to be discharged. Green energy flared along the eight tails and the delicate balance that kept the energy compressed vanished. The compact ball ballooned out to one side. Aoki was satisfied that his power had finally worked and dismayed that it had picked the worst possible time to do so. Typical. Even thought the full power of cero wouldn't be directed at them the explosion would probably still kill everyone, except for Kinji. With the way Aoki's luck ran the hollow would probably survive the cataclysmic blast.

"Bankai!" Red light off to his right made Aoki jerk his head to the side to see Renji Abarai's snake-like zanpakuto speeding toward him. Zabimaru's boney plates wrapped around Aoki, Isane, and the arrancars just before the ball of fire lost cohesion completely.

Sui-Feng let out an uncharacteristic sigh of relief from her perch on the tower when the fire dwindled and she saw the aftermath. She could still feel the reiatsu signatures of Kinji, Renji, and Isane so no one had actually died in the explosion, which had been tremendous. She would have stepped in if she hadn't seen Renji charging in like the brawler he was. Besides, if everything went south she would be the one to make sure Kinji didn't kill anyone else.

The hollow tore itself from the sand dune that had buried it in the explosion and charged the giant bone-snake with abandon. With one hit it sent the snake weapon flying and revealed Renji standing protectively over Isane. It lashed out with a tail to take Renji's head off his shoulders but the tail turned to dust when it hit the hilt of Renji's weapon. The hollow froze in disbelief and sudden caution. Renji was just as stunned when he actually managed to block the strike that had knocked the main body of his bankai away. Renji was first to react, cracking the massive whip and knocking the hollow back across the sands. Renji's reaction probably saved the lives of everyone he was guarding. Even while the hollow was still flying through the air it caught fire and burned like a magnesium flare until crashing back into the sands. The fiery body exploded when it hit the ground. A wave of force threw a small wall of sand at the fallen warriors as the explosion roared like the hollow's dying scream.

Kinji opened his eyes and found himself standing in a glassed over crater. He felt... good. He could feel the nine tails of his bankai behind him and shedding heat and the unbelievable reservoir of power in each of them. The only comparable feeling in his memory was Yamamoto's released shikai, though he couldn't quite bring himself to believe he had become that powerful. But the thing that really surprised him was how easy it was to maintain this new form. Only a few weeks ago trying for five tails had nearly given him an aneurism but now he had nine and it was as easy as breathing!

Kinji reached for the bony mask that had hung around his neck on a red string. What he found was a mask made of polished metal. The moment his hand made contact he felt a different kind of power in it, something more than the power of a soul reaper or a hollow. It wasn't like that of the arrancars, it was more akin to the strange energy surrounding the ruins of Ai Aomai. Interesting but definitely something to be looked into later, he had more immediate problems. He reached out with his spiritual sense to get an idea of who was still alive. A wave of sensory data flooded his mind and he flinched away from it. The range and detail of his ability to sense spiritual power had been improved to unbelievable new levels. He tried again, more gently this time, and realized he had nearly decimated all of Hueco Mundo's battle-ready forces. Grimmjow, who Kinji was surprised to feel on the battlefield, was still alive. After cataloging the injured he pushed his range out beyond the confines of Las Noches.

Then he felt three power signatures in the distance and focused on them. Well, at least he'd solved the mystery of Tia Halibel's whereabouts. He shut down his improved sense and tried to leave the pit. Kinji took a step forward and collapsed. Incredible power or no, he still bore the wounds of his internal battle. Kinji dismissed his much improved bankai and used the remnants of his coat to bind his wounds. Then, trying not to cut himself on jagged pieces of glass, he made his way out of the crater and toward Isane. He could sense Renji near her and was grateful for it. He had no memory of what the hollow had done with his body so for all he knew the Captain had saved his sister's life. He felt a twinge of guilt for all the damage done but as far as he knew no one had died.

Renji let his bankai revert to a normal zanpakuto when he saw Kinji stumbling toward them. He was almost knocked over when Isane ran out to help her obviously injured brother. "Should have seen that coming." Renji muttered. Like Aoki, Renji had observed the almost stupid level of loyalty between the Kotetsu siblings. But unlike Aoki he thought he understood it. He had rushed to a sure death just to give Rukia a slim chance of rescue from her execution, he figured Isane, Kiyone, Kinji, and Jiro had a similar kind of bond. He looked behind him at the injured and exhausted people behind him. Kinji had kicked wholesale ass as a hollow. Two Privaron Espada, a handful of Fracciones, and a whole bunch of unranked soul reapers and arrancars. He swore under his breath and waited for the medics. It wasn't even a thought, it was instinct beaten into him during his days at the Soul Academy and when he was in Division 11. If people were down you let the medics deal with it or you might end up making things worse.

"Glad to see you, Captain Abarai." Aoki said. Sprawled out in the sand and completely exhausted he meant every word.

"Glad I could help." Renji fumbled for the soul reaper's name but couldn't remember. He recognized the black hair, green eyes, and lanky build but he just couldn't put a name to the man. Aoki sighed and helped him out.

"Aoki. Ryuhei Aoki." he said tiredly.

"You go by your family name?" Renji asked.

"I got tired of people asking which characters I wrote my name with." Aoki pulled out a small piece of metal and twisted it. "Excuse me Captain, I have to make a call. Akon? This is Aoki, we need the medics and anyone who can carry a stretcher to get out here now."

#

"No problem. They're on their way." Akon said from the safety of his lab. He had actually deployed them the moment he saw Kinji explode. The level-headed scientist actually allowed himself a smile. The data he had gathered from Kinji's hollowfication would be useful in making the serum he had from Urahara achieve a 100% success rate. Despite the loss of Grimmjow, today might end up being very profitable.

The smile was replaced by a scowl when Akon remembered what he had to do next. A few commands on the main computer terminal and the data, as well as the visual footage of the battle, was copied to a portable storage device. Akon called for one of his assistants and sent him through the garganta. Kinji wasn't the only one Yamamoto had given special orders to. The old man had directed Akon to periodically hand over all security footage to Mayuri Kurotsuchi who would review the footage and report to the Captain Commander. Akon did feel guilty for the betrayal but he told himself that it was the least of all evils. If he wasn't reporting back to the Captain Commander then someone else would have been recruited. And someone else, he thought with black humor, wouldn't censor portions of the footage to hide facts that Mayuri or Yamamoto would disapprove of. It was messed up, betraying someone to prevent their being betrayed. Well, life was sometimes a strange and complicated thing. All Akon could do was what he thought was right.

#

Sui-Feng would have jumped off the rooftop and aided Kinji but the emotions squirming under her skin had frozen her to the spot. The relief, the self-reproach, and the deep confusion all rooted her to the spot. The professional part of her which had guided her thoughts when the pressure was on had yielded to her personal side which was far more torn about killing Kinji. The parallel between this situation and the aftermath of Yoruichi's return didn't escape her. She had spent a lifetime making herself into the perfect killer and denying herself basic human things like friends, let alone romance. But now that she was in a romantic relationship, or what passed for one between two people so damaged, she seemed to have misplaced the decisiveness and certainty her profession gave her. She had once remarked to her late Lieutenant "I have no interest in right or wrong. All I care about is executing orders as a captain of the Gotei 13. All who get in my way are my enemies. All enemies must be slain. That is all that matters.". The sentiment behind those words had died when the woman she idolized had returned and fought on the side of the Ryoka. Now they rang mockingly in her ears as she struggled with emotions that felt foreign to her after denying them for so long.

She needed to talk to him and settle things. He had spoken to her honestly and openly about himself but because of Lin's interruption she had never had the chance to reciprocate. _Go talk to him._Suzumebachi said. The zanpakuto was deeply worried about her master. Sui-Feng had never allowed anyone so close to her before and she had chosen someone who was likely to get himself killed. The pain of a soul reaper was shared by the zanpakuto in some degree and Suzumebachi was feeling the full force of Sui-Feng's worry and indecision. _You need to settle things one way or the other. _ Sui-Feng agreed. She left her assassin's perch and stole into the main palace of Las Noches like the spy she was.

#

Kinji was resting in his bedroom when Sui-Feng found him. His wounds had been properly bandaged and Isane had threatened him into his bed despite his protests that he had things he needed to do. His bedroom was very spare and had only basic furnishings like a futon and a simple writing desk. He was laying down but wide awake with worry for everyone under his authority. He knew Isane had the know-how and force of personality to take care of everything but he felt entitled to worry all the same. To his credit he didn't flinch when Sui-Feng sat on the floor next to him. He looked at the careful expression on her face and tried to look calm himself but he couldn't deny the sinking feeling in his chest. Was she about to break things off with him?

"I had five older brothers." Sui-Feng said quietly. Kinji blinked but didn't dare interrupt. "None of them made it past their sixth mission as part of the Onmitsukido. When each of them died I felt a little sad but I didn't really mourn their deaths. My clan doesn't share the kind of family ties yours does. Our lives are considered expendable in service to the Onmitsukido and the Shihouin clan so we don't value family ties. I don't know if I could be family to you, not in the way you want."

"I-" Kinji said when he thought she had stopped. She put a finger to his lips in an uncharacteristically gentle gesture.

"I was ready to kill you today. If your transformation had finished I would have. Is that the kind of woman you want as a wife?"

"Yes." Kinji said without hesitation. Sui-Feng's mouth dropped open. "You were willing to sacrifice me to save the people I cared about. Believe me, I understand what that kind of choice costs and I'm glad you'd be willing to make it."

"But you-" Sui-Feng stopped speaking abruptly when she realized that she didn't know what to say to that. Kinji pushed himself to his feet and pulled out the drawer in his desk. He extracted a small box from a secret compartment beneath the drawer. He dropped to one knee, trying and failing to suppress a grunt of pain when he felt one of his wounds re-open. Sui-Feng's heart was frozen in her chest at the sight of the small box. Was she ready for this? She hadn't really thought that far ahead when she skulked into his room. She certainly hadn't anticipated that he would propose to her. She wasn't exactly sure why he was proposing to her, especially after she had admitted to being ready to kill him.

Kinji was similarly nervous. He and Sui-Feng had done some very intense bonding over the last few months and had picked up the pace in the last week. He knew things about her that no one else knew, excepting Yoruichi Shihouin. But there was no substitute for time when it came to knowing people. In this situation, with emotions running so high, he didn't really know how she would react. But this was something he couldn't put off any longer, it was something he needed. His father, when he was still very young, had explained the birds and bees with agonizing awkwardness. But one thing his father had told him still rang true to him even then: "You don't marry the woman you can live with, you marry the one you can't live without." Kinji had realized that his life would be infinitely poorer without Sui-Feng in it. As painful as her companionship sometimes was, he harbored suspicions that she was a sadist, she was definitely worth it. Kinji opened the box and revealed a slender black band with three yellow stones set into the metal. When Kinji had commissioned the ring he'd asked for two things. First, it had to be nigh indestructible. Sui-Feng was no delicate housewife, she was a fighter who specialized in hand-to-hand combat. Anything on her hands would have to be unbelievably tough. Second, the stone or stones needed to be yellow. Akon had assured him that creating yellow tinted diamonds was a simple matter but that gold or silver wouldn't be an option for the metal. So the scientist had created an alloy of titanium and platinum, along with a few rarer elements, that was durable to the point of invulnerability. The cost had been enough to literally knock Kinji off his feet, luckily there had been a chair nearby. But when Kinji saw the finished product he had thanked Akon and offered him a bonus.

Sui-Feng's heart may have stopped for a moment but her keen observational mind noted the kanji carved on the interior of the box. She recognized Kinji's writing and nearly fell over when she realized what it was .

Sweet honeysuckle

Footsteps fall on soundless night

Hands resting on heart

He'd written her a love poem! The calculating part of her mind noted that it wasn't much good, in fact she was certain he didn't even have the right number of syllables for a haiku, but the gesture was enough to cause a pang behind the iron covering her heart.

"Shaolin Feng, will you marry me?" The sincerity of his question and the use of her real name caused her eyes to shine with unshed tears. She wasn't used to feeling so vulnerable, so emotional. She reacted on the grounds of self-preservation.

"This is a bad idea." She said quietly. Kinji felt his own heart crack and he pulled in a breath. Sui-Feng paused for the briefest of moments before she reached out and took the ring from its case then slipped it onto her left ring-finger. Her next words were choked with emotion,"But for you I'll risk it." It was as close to an open declaration of love as the petite assassin had ever come. Kinji didn't wait to see if she would work up the courage to actually voice her feelings, he crushed her to him with a need and possessiveness that told her exactly where his heart stood on the matter. Sui-Feng wrapped her slender arms around him and let her head rest on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long while, simply basking in the pleasure of being so close to the one they loved. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." Sui-Feng said as gently as she could.

"Likewise." Kinji replied with a small shaky laugh. Sui-Feng took off her sword and climbed into the futon with Kinji. They both found sleep quickly, the day had been utterly exhausting, but even in sleep they held tightly to each other.

#

Isane simply couldn't stop blushing. Her hand reached up to the earrings again as if to condirm that they were really there. In an untypically girlish mood she giggled and shook with nervous energy. After hours of treating the wounded of Las Noches she should have been exhausted, and she had been before Renji's proposal, but now she just couldn't contain herself! She wanted to tell Kiyone and Kinji and Captain Unohana, and everyone! She could hardly believe it herself. That Renji had proposed after less than a year of dating was surprising in the best way. She was disappointed that Soul Society had recalled him from Las Noches with an urgent, top secret communique so soon after he had proposed but she had long ago accepted the interruptions of military life.

Sun-Sun walked out of her room and into the hallway just ahead of Isane. The Lieutenant could hear the sounds of fighting coming from the interior of the arrancar's room and knew at once what was going on. Of all the wounded those three had bounced back the fastest and they were apparently well enough to attack each other.

"Lady Kotetsu." Sun-Sun bowed politely. The blue earrings sparkled and caught the arrancar's eyes like a hypnotist's coin. "Those are magnificent stones." she said after recovering her decorum. Isane blushed deeperbut smiled all the wider.

"They're an engagement present." she said bashfully.

"Congratulations." the dark haired woman said in a voice more cheerful than Isane had ever heard from her. "Who to?" Sun-Sun added deviously. Isane felt herself react, she never would have spoken so brashly otherwise.

"Renji!" Isane nearly shouted in her indignation at being teased on the subject of her engagement. The shout made Apache and Mila-Rose, both looking a little ruffled from their...disagreement.

"Renji? You mean the tattooed gangster guy? What about him?" Mila-Rose asked, brushing a few blue hairs from her hands.

"Lady Kotetsu is going to marry him." Sun-Sun provided cheerfully.

"No way!" Mila-Rose and Apache said at the same time.

"Well, actually-" Isane blushed even darker. "-I just accepted his proposal."

"Oh, so you like the bad boys. Can't really blame you. Something about tattoos just-" Apache started. Mila-Rose smacked her over the head.

"Could you at least congratulate her before you start drooling over her future husband?" The fight that statement caused involved all three arrancars and did considerable damage to the floor. Isane took the opportunity to leave the three women and go check on some of the other patients. When the fight ended Apache found herself walking the halls and in a foul mood. She didn't see why Mila-Rose couldn't just let her be herself. And Sun-Sun. Everything Apache did seemed to be grounds for some snide comment about her manners or her looks or her chances at getting hitched. It pissed her off. She lashed out at a random door in frustration and the metal popped right out of it's frame. Aoki's room now lacked a door which meant Aoki, who was changing into a new set of clothes for his shift on guard duty that night. He had the lower half of his uniform on but he was naked from the waist up. Apache was treated to a body turned into canvas. Aoki's entire back was a tapestry of tattoos. The complex designs featured a large black panther fighting a dragon while oni and other demons looked on. He had two "sleeves" of ink ending at his elbows and when he turned around to see why his door had been knocked in Apache saw the extensive designs that covered his chest and abs. She stood there, appreciatively eying the body art while Aoki shifted uncomfortably. He'd had women hit on him before but he'd never had someone look at him like that. The look was, and he wished he could think of another word when describing the feelings of a hollow, hungry.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked to break the tension.

"Maybe." Apache said. "Nice ink." Aoki was taken aback. The tattooing he had gotten in the middle Rukon while he was still just some low level enforcer for the gangs had never gotten him a complement before/ At best the markings were tolerated by other soul reapers who tended to look down on guys with ties to criminals in the Rukon.

"Thanks?"

"Took the word right out of my mouth." Apache licked her lips and Aoki shifted his weight to his back foot. That look and the tone of her voice was really making him nervous. He quickly pulled the jacket on and bolted. His flash step was fast enough that Apache could quite grab him on the bay out. She gave chase with enthusiasm, leaving the damaged for someone else to fix.

#

"My apologies for being late, Captain Commander." Renji said while taking a knee.

"That is quite all right, Captain Abarai. I understand I pulled you from something quite personal, for that you have my sympathy." The old general said in his deep voice. "But the orders I have for you have been passed down from Central 46 and are of the gravest importance. Division 5 is to withdraw its members from all other assignments and travel to the city of Kyoto in the World of the Living by Senkaimon. There has been a sudden surge of hollows in this area and you Division is tasked with eliminating them. It has been many years since Central 46 has issued a purge order so they are allowing you one month to set your Division in order."

"I see. Which Division will be taking over my Division's responsibilities in the meantime?"

"None. The tasks assigned to Division 5 have been deemed obsolete. Make your preparations as soon as possible. I recommend informing those close to you of these orders before you begin. Dismissed." Renji left the 1st Division office and started back toward the Kotetsu estate where the garaganta portal was. This was precisely the action Yamamoto had been counting on. He could feel the spies watching him even though they were masking their spiritual pressure. The crafty old man knew something was wrong with this order the moment he read it. That was why he had sent Renji to go tell Isane Kotetsu. He had to hope that Kinji would be sharp enough to figure out what was wrong and take care of it. Yamamoto had lived a thousand years and he could tell genuine military orders from political maneuvering. The rogue political element that Kinji had taken to calling the Blood Faction was the only politically dissident group active at the moment so Yamamoto had to assume they were behind it. The spies he knew were there had to be from them as well. That meant any direct form of warning would tip his hand. No, he would have to trust that Kinji would make the best possible use of the information Yamamoto had nudged his way before these schemes bore fruit.

**A/N: Merry Christmas everyone!**


	24. Christmas

Christmas in Hueco Mundo

"Where in the hell did he get that?" Grimmjow sat slack-jawed in front of a 20 foot tall evergreen tree strung with lights and crystal ornaments standing in the middle of the main chamber of Las Noches. He was still recovering from being stabbed, burned, and blown up but he had recovered enough to steal a wheelchair and escape his infirmary bed. Improved spirit restraining cuffs and a collar kept him from being a threat to anyone so Kinji had allowed him a degree of freedom inside the desert fortress. "We're in the middle of a damn desert!" Grimmjow complained to no one and everyone. The room was empty except for him and the tree. And the hundreds of brightly wrapped boxes under the green boughs. He wheeled himself over to the tree and reached for one of the gaudy packages. The jolt of energy he got when he touched the invisible barrier around the gifts flipped his wheelchair back and his head smacked down on the white marble of the floor. "Son of a bitch." he groaned.

"You definitely are." Kinji said when he found the dazed arrancar on the floor. "You should know better that to try opening gifts before the right time." He lifted the blue-haired man back into the wheelchair. "And that goes double for the two of you!" Kinji shouted at the other side of the tree. Two blurs, one blond haired and one black haired, shot out and made for the door. "Poachers." Kinji sighed in amused exasperation. He placed the last of the gifts under the tree and wheeled the groggy blue-haired psychopath back to his room.

"Lord Kotetsu, the gingerbread house is ready." Sun-Sun said, wiping her hands on a towel. Kinji remarked on how odd it was to see the woman without those long sleeves but Sun-Sun merely shrugged. "They're not good for delicate work. Speaking of which, where did you send Mila-Rose and Apache?" Kinji gave her a wicked smile.

"Oh, somewhere. They'll be here when they need to be." Kinji peeked into the kitchen to see the gingerbread house and nodded appreciatively at the edible art. Sun-Sun had a knack for this kind of thing. He had everyone working on something for the Christmas party later that day. Sun-Sun had volunteered for kitchen duty on the condition that her two compatriots wouldn't destroy everything. He'd sent them on what amounted to a wild goose chase. Dordoni was also in the kitchen, working on a mountain of some bread-like desert called Rosca de Reyes. Cirucci was everywhere at once, stringing up decorations and lights. Loly and Menoly were supposed to be setting the dining hall but they had taken advantage of their freedom to try sneaking a peek at the mountain of presents beneath the giant tree that Kinji had made appear in the middle of the night.

Aoki and most of the other soul reapers were keeping up security and carrying out most of the necessary daily functions of Las Noches. But for three hours that night everyone would be off duty. That would be a party of nearly three hundred people, everyone eating and drinking and maybe even dancing, depending how much drinking was done beforehand. But, Kinji had a few very important things to do beforehand. A few last-minute invitations to hand out and gifts to get.

* * *

The blond arrancar looked up at the moonlight pouring in from the split in the roof of her cave. A place like that, with a supply of fresh running water and edible plants, was rare in Hueco Mundo. She'd stayed there for months, maybe years, hiding away from the rest of the world. It had taken a good many hard lessons but she had finally learned how to find a world where no more sacrificed were necessary. Isolation was the price of no more bloodshed.

Tia Halibel sat back in her home and recounted the events that had brought her here. The long struggle against other hollows just to survive. The mad hunger that had driven her to evolve above all but a few others in that world. How she had taken in three female Adujuchas, one at a time and over a long while. Even with the fighting anf running and looking over her shoulder for Barragan's soldiers she had enjoyed their life together. Looking back on it it was the happiest time in her afterlife. Then Aizen had come and put an end to the eternal cycle of bloodshed in Hueco Mundo. She had thought it a miracle, an answer to unspoken prayers she hadn't dared to voice. It had been a lie, an illusion, a seeming peace laid over the eventual slaughter. Her fellow Espada had died, one after the other, then her three Fracciones had fallen. That was the moment her will had broken. Her dream for a life without sacrifice had been shattered. Then Aizen had betrayed her. It had been the final straw on a very heavy weight that had been laid across her back. She had woken up alone with her wounds treated and bandaged and she had stayed alone. She had opened a garganta to the most isolated and least populated part of Hueco Mundo. Because hollows needed to other spiritual beings to stay alive they tended to group together. Menos Forest, the area around Las Noches, several old ruins dotted her and there. Those sites contained the majority of the hollow population in Hueco Mundo. The vast majority of the desert world's real estate was vacant and any odd hollows or other rogue beings could find some solitary accommodations out there in the wide nothingness of that dead landscape.

But still, being out there alone wore on her. It was in her nature to see out others and she had denied herself. Denied herself over and over again for years, though she had no way of knowing that. It wasn't fear that kept her in that cave but doubt. Doubt that she could protect those she cared about, doubt that she deserved people to protect, and doubt that the world she lived in would allow her to succeed in protecting her friends.

"It took me a long time to find you, Tia Halibel." The voice came as a complete shock. She had long since forgone the use of her pesquisa to detect reiatsu, there was no point when she was so isolated. But still, people shouldn't be able to simply approach her unnoticed. Why would someone come all the way out here anyway? So far as anyone should know it was a barren wasteland devoid of any life. She turned in the direction of the voice and activated her pesquisa, unwilling to be caught by surprise a second time. According to the map in her head there was no one else but a single soul reaper.

Kinji did his best to appear non-threatening which was understandably difficult when you have a sword at your side. He kept his hands in plain view and clear of his weapon. He had a carefully neutral expression on his face. He made no move when her hand moved to her own zanpakuto. "What do you want?" The voice was cool and on the lower end of the register but not as low as Mila-Rose. Her clothes, if her arrancar uniform actually passed for clothes, were tattered and worn. Her hair was similarly disheveled and her arms looked a little too thin. Kinji was fairly certain he could see her ribs, all clear signs of malnutrition and hard living.

"Me? Nothing. But I have three women who won't stop demanding I find you and reunite them with you. I think you know them." Her green eyes narrowed dangerously. She had seen her Fracciones fall to the old soul reaper's flames, they were dead.

"You're lying."

"I thought you might say that." Kinji pulled a photograph from his coat pocket and held it up for her to see. It was a picture of the Tres Bestias in the middle of a brawl taken from the security feed. It had a date stamp on it from two weeks back. "They're kind of a handful." He commented while offering the picture to her. He was at the entrance to the small dwelling and far enough away that she would have to get up and walk to him in order to take the picture from him. This was a calculated action designed to instill a small measure of trust. The idea was that his inaction when an opportunity to attack passed by would help convince her of his goodwill. She got up, took the picture, and went back to sitting on the flat rock shelf along the back wall of the cave.

"They're really alive?" she asked. Kinji nodded. "Then why aren't they here with you?"

"Because I can't trust them to act in a predicable manner. I may be the ruler of Hueco Mundo but that doesn't necessarily mean anything when it comes to compelling those three. I didn't want to risk you rejecting them. I also didn't want to pressure you into returning to Hueco Mundo by bringing them with me."

"You won't tell them you found me if I wish to stay here?" Halibel asked incredulously.

"Sousuke really did a number on you." Kinji said sadly, drawing a glare from the ex-Espada. "I could definitely use strength like yours but you're not an object. You're a person and I have no desire to force you on this choice. If you don't believe me you can ask Ulquiorra."

"He's alive?"

"Annoyingly so. Scares the life out of my patrols and supply shipments from time to time. He's my next stop as a matter of fact."

"I see. You're just like him. You'll kill anyone who doesn't follow you." Halibel said bitterly.

"What? No, I'm inviting him to the Christmas party." Halibel blinked.

"You're having a Christmas party?" She asked slowly.

"Yes."

"In Hueco Mundo?"

"Yeah." Kinji replied again.

"And you're inviting Ulquiorra Schifer, the Espada of nihilism?" she asked in that same slow tone.

"Yes?" Kinji voiced it as an answer but the tone said he was confused by the ongoing questions.

"Are you insane?" Halibel asked bluntly.

"People keep asking me that. Sooner or later I'm going to take exception. But not today. Especially not today." Kinji shook his head and forced himself to get back on track. "But that doesn't have much to do with you. Will you come to Las Noches with me?"

"I..." Halibel didn't know what she should do. The world of that distant dream with her comrades by her side still existed. But could she risk watching that world crumble again? Did she have the right to risk the lives of Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun? "I can't."

"Well, in the interest of informed decision-making, I should let you know that war is on the way. Chances are that all of Hueco Mundo is going to be dragged into it."

"You underhanded lying bastard." Halibel said coldly.

"I'm just stating the facts as they stand. Those three are like sisters to me, very annoying younger sisters. And I don't know if they'll be strong enough to survive what's coming. But if you're there-" the bullet of condensed reishi nearly took Kinji in the face. The soul reaper was forced to sidestep and let the bala blast punch a hole in the stone where his head had been just a moment before. "-then they might have a better chance." he finished.

"You said you weren't going to pressure me into returning to Hueco Mundo."

"Feeling pressured? Alright, I'll balance the scales for you. If you come back the sudden shift in the balance of power might set off the time bomb early and get a lot of people killed, maybe even you and your three Fracciones. I'm not trying to make this decision for you, I'm just giving you what you need to make an informed decision." Kinji brushed flakes of stone off his white coat.

"You're very condescending."

"Yes, I am condescending when I'm dealing with people who are at a disadvantage and try to kill me when I offer help. But I'm keeping a promise so I'll do my best to be civil and honest." The tone was adversarial at best, contemptuous at worse. He had been careful with his words so far, he wouldn't pressure her to return to Las Noches but he had never said he wouldn't manipulate her. As dirty as it made him feel Hyde had been fundamentally correct. Deception was a fundamental part of who he was and it was a powerful weapon, a weapon he couldn't afford to set aside when he had received news that the Blood Faction was finally ready to make barely concealed moves like the orders from the "impartial" Central 46. In two weeks there would be no soul reapers guarding the Karakura Town replica sitting in the Rukon where Kinji believed the Hogyoku was hidden. They were clearing the place out so they could search for the powerful artifact unimpeded and without openly opposing Central 46 and the Gotei 13. A bold move meant that they had a military force capable of waging war if something went wrong with their more covert maneuvers. Kinji had to get his own military in line and bolster its ranks with powerful fighters or he would be crushed and all of Soul Society would pay the price for his failure. To that end he planned on pulling in the only four remaining arrancars worthy of the title Espada and using them to neutralize the enemy army while he dealt with his brother.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say." Halibel turned away. Kinji had to find a way to break through her isolation. She had not only physically cut herself off from others but walled her heart away as well. Kinji could see that clearly though he still had difficulty with how he should feel about arrancars. So be it, he would break out the blunt tools of persuasion.

"Coward." Kinji said accusingly. It was all the provocation necessary for her to attack him. She drew her sword, a very oddly shape blade, and attacked him. The blade cleaver down and flung sparks into the air as it met Kinji's block. Kinji held the blow back with far less effort than he expected to exert and was even able to use his left hand to grasp Halibel's hand and sword. With that advantage he was able to twist her sword aside and put his own blade against the high collar that covered her neck. "Weakling." He goaded. The taunt earned him a punch to the stomach but it wasn't hard enough to make him lose his grip. Her time in isolation had diminished her. Her reiatsu was as strong as ever but her body had deteriorated too far for her to properly utilize it. As she was Ulquiora could have taken her without too much trouble.

"Shut up." Yellow energy filled the hollow space inside the steel outline of a sword and the weight of her sword increased. Kinji was suddenly straining to keep his grip on her sword hand.

"Spark, Kitsunebi." Blue fire coated the length of Kinji's sword and licked at the white collar it was pressed against. "If this is the best you can do then maybe I should just kill you and tell Sun-Sun and the others that I found you dead." A sudden burst of strength allowed Halibel to shove Kinji back through the entrance to the cave and out into the moonlight. He got his feet under him in time to block the blade of yellow energy aimed at his head. Halibel followed it up with an overhand chop, two quick stabs and a kick to Kinji's midsection. The chop he knocked to the side, both hands gripping his sword, the stabs he blocked with the flat of his blade, and the kick slipped right through his stomach. Halibel overbalanced when her kick met air and Kinji kicked her other leg out from under her and made a backhand slash at her as she fell. The arrancar caught the fiery blade with her gloved hand and used it to pulled Kinji off balance. He didn't fight the pull but followed the momentum and rolled away from his opponent.

He ducked the next cut because he heard the static distortion of sonido behind him. It was close enough to leave some of his hair in the sand but the missed cut let him step inside her arc and drive the hilt of his own blade into her lower ribs. Her hierro dampened the blow but it still hurt enough to make her take a step back. Kinji pressed the advantage and hit her low with his shoulder to drive her back to the ground. He pressed her hard with a flurry of cuts and stabs but even with the disadvantage of defending from above she was able to fend him off. Kinji felt disgusted with himself but whether or not she decided to join his crusade he needed to push her out of the bubble she was sheltering herself in. He had made a promise to bring Halibel back to her Fracciones and he would keep that promise. Even if Halibel took them from him when all was said and done.

Halibel rolled out of his reach and disappeared in a burst of static. Kinji followed with a flash step and nearly took his own head off when Halibel stopped and lashed out with her zanpakuto. He ducked and raised his sword to block the next cut. She forced him down on a knee and kept pushing, harder and harder. She was throwing off her lethargy at record speed and he wasn't sure how long he could hold his own with only his shikai. But her mental lethargy hadn't broken. She was fighting for survival and her determination was borne of that primal fear of death. It was a defensive state of mind and he needed her to take an offensive state of mind. He needed her to push forward not retreat.

Kinji pulled back abruptly and Halibel overbalanced. It was a trick that wouldn't have worked unless his opponent was very rusty. She hadn't planted her feet properly to pull back so when the resistance disappeared she couldn't stop herself from pitching forward. Kinji used the opportunity to return to even footing. But he had another card to play and the thought almost made him physically sick. He knew how to push her into attack mode, or he hoped he did. If he said what he was about to say and got nothing out of it it would really spoil his good mood. "If you lose this fight I'll kill one of them." Kinji said. He put a teeth-baring smile on his face to convey the idea that he found the idea pleasant. "But which one? Mila-Rose?" Kinji watched Halibel's eyes for a reaction. There was definitely anger there which he had expected to see when he threatened one of the few people she actually cared about. But it wasn't the gut-wrenching impulse driving anger he needed. "Or maybe Sun-Sun, the stuck-up little bitch." More anger, and some disgust. He felt real good about himself just then. But he had to press forward or it would all be for nothing. "No, I think I'll kill Apache. Insubordinate, insolent, foul mouthed. Still, maybe I should spend some quality time with her first. At least that way I'll get something I enjoy out of her bef-" That garnered the response he was looking for.

"Hunt, Tiburon!" Water enveloped Halibel then slammed into him with enough force to make him momentarily forget which way was up. The torrent of water tossed and turned him over and over, he didn't even touch the sand for more than 50 yards and when he did he was forced to cough up water before he could get his bearings. He looked up to see Tia Halibel wielding a large sword reminiscent of a giant shark tooth and devoid of her high collar. Her beautiful face was twisted with anger and disgust.

"Much better." Kinji muttered to himself. He managed to keep hold of his sword which was doused but throwing off steam and sputtering blue flames. "So you will still fight to protect others." He shouted at her. "Then why won't you step up?" confusion mixed with the anger and disgust but didn't stop her from pointing the shark-tooth sword at him and charging a yellow cero. Kinji held out a hand and rattled off a spell "Bakudo 81:Danku." A transparent wall slammed into existence between Kinji and Halibel just before a river of yellow energy crashed into it. Kinji had stood in front of many ceros before but this one just seemed to go on and on and on. The wall began to fall apart, bits and pieces broke off of the edges. Kinji didn't reinforce his barrier, instead he built up power in his sword. Blue fire made the steel glow white hot while Kinji waited for the kido to fail. With a thunderous crack the powerful barrier gave way and Kinji used his overcharged sword to cleave what remained of the cero in two. Bright blue fire slammed into yellow light and pushed through it, driving hard toward Halibel. The fire broke up the cero but didn't have enough power to injure the powerful arrancar standing on the other end of the blast. Kinji felt heavy and sluggish, pulling that much power from his shikai apparently wasn't a good idea. He had to fight his own body to get his sword up in time to block the giant sword that came crashing down on him. Halibel's swing drove him to the wet sand but he stopped it short of cutting into his shoulder.

"You won't lay a hand on Apache." Halibel said confidently and pushed harder which ended up shoving Kinji further into the mud.

"Correct." Kinji grunted. Confusion again clouded Halibel's face. "I never planned to hurt her."

"Explain yourself." She said coldly, but she let off the pressure a bit so he could speak more easily.

"I just needed to remind you of the right way of things. The strong protect the weak. That is the way things ought to be. But you didn't have anyone standing in front of you to protect someone from. Sorry." He offered a weak smile. Halibel looked at him without blinking for a long moment before she let him up. Kinji didn't wait for a hand up, he didn't think it would be coming, and dusted off his coat as best he could after he stood up.

"You threatened to rape and kill Apache just to make me angry?" She asked in what appeared to be a calm voice. Kinji didn't bother hiding his shame. The whole thing made him feel unclean and guilty in a way he'd never experienced before.

"Technically I didn't threaten to rape her, I was implying torture, but yes." it suddenly felt like someone went upside his head with a sledgehammmer. Halibel's slap rang half a dozen bells in his head and put him right back into the ground. He felt a warm sensation on his chin and tasted blood in his mouth. He ran a tongue over his teeth and was thankful that they were all still there. He stumbled back to his feet and put his sword away. "I deserved that." he admitted.

"You deserve more." Halibel told him. She resealed her zanpakuto and started walking away, and not in the direction of Las Noches.. Kinji felt his stomach sink. All that effort, debasing himself, and it had been for nothing. "I thought you said your next stop was Ulquiorra?" she asked. Kinji immediately perked up. It wasn't a guarantee that she would come back to Las Noches, but it was better than nothing.

* * *

"You're throwing a Christmas party?" The pale man asked in his normal droning flat voice.

"Yes." Kinji answered.

"In Hueco Mundo?"

"Yes."

"And you're here to request my attendance at this party." Ulquiorra was watching Kinji's face intently, searching for signs of deception.

"I believe that is what I said." Kinji said, pushing back against his temper.

"Have you recently been struck in the head?" Ulquiorra asked.

"He has." Halibel answered.

"You keep out of this." Kinji said testily. "I know it seems... strange, but it's part of my personal convictions that I invite everyone I know."

"I see." Ulquiorra said. Kinji waited for him to actually give an answer but the arrancar just stood there like a statue, not even blinking. The silence dragged on for the better part of a minute before Halibel said something.

"You're coming with us Ulquiorra."

"Is that an order, Tercera Espada?"

"Yes."

"Understood." The two of them turned in the direction of Las Noches and started walking. Kinji was dumbfounded.

"That's it? She tells you to do something and you do it?"

"Of course. She is my superior among the Espada, it is only logical that I obey her orders in absence of a higher authority." Ulquiorra's voice had the odd property of making whatever he said sound perfectly reasonable, even when what he was saying made no sense whatsoever.

"So, as the ruler of Las Noches, I could give you orders?"

"Of course not. I would never recognize someone so weak as the Lord of Hueco Mundo." Ulquiorra walked off but Kinji held Halibel back

"Why did you do that?"

"The strong protect the weak. I can' protect someone so far away from me." Tia Halibel explained as if she was talking to a somewhat slow child. Kinji tamped down on the flare of anger that tone brought out. It died abruptly after he realized she was being honest with him. She didn't know how powerful Ulquiorra was. If the two of them fought with their full power the Fourth Espada would bring her down without much difficulty. That bestial release form that Kinji had seen immediately after the arrancar's revival was the most powerful thing he had ever seen, apart from the Captain-Commander's bankai. An involuntary shudder ran up his spine at the memory of that unreal display of power.

If she didn't know, and Ulquiorra wasn't pushing the issue, then Kinji wasn't going to get in the middle of that. "Fine. I have one more stop to make before we head back to Las Noches."

* * *

"No." The raven haired woman said with as little negative impression as she could. Catalina was thankful to Kinji for turning her into an arrancar and freeing her from that damnable hunger. But her responsibilities as the guardian of Ai Aomai were too important for something as frivolous as a party.

"Are you sure?" Kinji asked. "I have what may be excellent cooks working to get things ready."

"I appreciate the offer, but my answer is still no." She said politely. "Are they going?" she indicated the two Espadas standing off to the side.

"By some strange twist of fate they are." Kinji said. Catalina looked at him with something akin to pity.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She put her hand to his forehead as if checking for a fever. Kinji brushed it away but did so gently so he wouldn't give the impression that he was angry with her. She was too important as a future ally for him to distance her in any way.

"Unlikely." both Halibel and Ulquiorra said at the same time. Kinji shot them a look that could break glass.

"You're the fifth person to ask me that today. My sanity is within acceptable limits, at least for the moment." Kinji thought about it for a moment and gave her a smile. "Is it alright if I bring some leftovers to you in a day or two?"

"As long as you don't set foot on the grounds of Ai Aomai we won't have any problems." she reminded gently. Kinji was technically outside the grounds at the moment. He had fired a kido spell into the air to signal that he was there and wanted to meet with Catalina.

"No problem." Kinji said confidently. "See you in a couple of days. You two, let's get back. The other guests will be arriving soon."

"Other guests?" Halibel asked. Kinji gave her a cat-ate-the-canary smile.

* * *

The main hall was absolutely packed with people. Among the masses he saw white arrancar uniforms, black shihakushos, a few white haoris, and the deep blue cloaks of Kotetsu family members. He had asked Halibel to wait in an adjoining room until he gave the word. She wasn't happy about it but he said he wanted to make it a surprise. Kinji spied Sui-Feng standing by Renji and Isane, the newly engaged couple were trying to be social and friendly toward a woman whom very few people would describe in either of those terms. The spymaster and assassin looked manifestly uncomfortable with so many arrancars in the same room with her. She was wearing her uniform and Captain's haori instead of a more festive garb but he didn't seen her zanpakuto which eased the tension in his shoulders a little. The last thing he needed was for his future wife to start killing people wholesale. Of course, she could probably do that without her sword but the lack of an obvious weapon told him she was trying.

Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun were by the punch table arguing with the wheelchair-bound Grimmjow whose face had a red tinge that night have come from anger, or someone might have spiked the punch. Ulquiorra was on the other side of the table standing with his hands in his pockets, a wide area around him was clear of other people. No discernible social skills there. Kinji's mother was accompanied by two attendants and chatting up Cirucci over by the Christmas tree. Getting the gossip of Las Noches most likely, a deadly weapon in the Kotetsu matriarch's hands. Dordoni was over by the snacks on the opposite end of the room from the punch. He was talking with Ichigo Kurosaki and Neliel Tu Odelschvank. Anrak Ushii was there as well but instead of talking with the boisterous arrancar he stood there with an embarrassed look on his face. Kinji chuckled, Dordoni had that effect on people he met for the first time.

The noise was nearly deafening in a room with no fabric to dampen the sound of so much conversation. He actually had to create a small explosion to get everyone's attention. "Family, friends, allies, and party crashers. Welcome to my home. Come freely, go safely, and leave some of the happiness you bring." He'd read that somewhere and always liked how it sounded. His mother and sisters, who actually knew the context of the quote reacted with horror, embarrassment, and something approaching humor. "This past year has been difficult for all of us. The politics and personal problems that weighed us down, the difficult work, and the tension hanging in the air. But today is the day to throw off your burdens. Eat, drink, celebrate! Give something of yourselves to others and receive in return. And in that spirit I've prepared something for every one of you. All I ask in return is that you enjoy yourselves." Kinji raised a glass full of wine to the crowd in front of him. Then he gave the crowd a wry smile "Just try not to wreck the place." there were a few chuckles from the crowd and more than a few people rolled their eyes. Some of the invited nobles gave him a disapproving look but he ignored them. Kinji gave out the presents one by one, practically blowing through the list. Despite hundreds of gifts being given out he managed to get through the list in under an hour. But there were some people he left until the very end. Some of them looked rather glum given the empty space under the tree.

"Apache, Mila Rose, Sun-Sun." Kinji said, waiting for the three volatile women to step forward. "I did get you something but I'm afraid you'll have to share." There was some grumbling from the three arrancars but it didn't last long when Kinji called out the name of their long-lost master. "Miss Halibel, you can come in now." They nearly knocked him over in their rush to get to the Tercera Espada. The three of them crowded her like children crowd a parent holding a jar of cookies. "Merry Christmas." he said after regaining his footing.

"Thank you." Halibel said to him once her subordinates had calmed down. Kinji nodded and went to the next person.

"Sui-Feng." Kinji called out. When his bride to be didn't appear he scanned the crowd but didn't find her. That wasn't good. A single box waited for her in his room and he wanted to give it to her before the contents became unmanageable. But, before he left the party he wanted to add a little excitement to the affair. Some time ago he had placed a particular kido on the sash of Neliel Tu Odelschvank. He could feel the traces of his own reiatsu on the sash leaking from the dormant spell. He spied the green-haired woman talking with the aged Captain-Commander some distance away. He made sure he had a clear escape route before he activated the spell, wouldn't so to get tangled in what came after his little prank when he had more important things to attend to.

"Hado 12: Fushibi." Kinji whispered and gave a little pulse to get the spell to activate. Fushibi, which meant bound fire, burned cleanly through the white fabric holding Neliel's top together. The front of her shihakusho fell open exposing a generous amount of cleavage. The look on Yamamoto's face was priceless. His eyes were open wide in surprise, jaw hanging wide open, and his face was a nice shade of red. In over a century Kinji had never once seen the old man embarrassed. But when he saw the expression on the face of Nel's husband he decided the prudent thing to do would be to leave.

Kinji tried to hold it together while he was walking back to his room but every time he remembered the expression on his boss's face he had to laugh. The spell hadn't actually been meant for that situation, he hadn't planned it out, he barely had an hour to contemplate the consequences. But sometimes it was better to be lucky than prepared. Although, he reflected upon retrieving the cardboard box from his room, there were advantages to planning ahead. He felt some movement inside the box and glimpsed a flash of yellow through the small holes in the top of the box. He tucked the box under his arm and tried to sense Sui-Feng among the hundreds of different power signatures. Her particular signature was familiar to him other wise he probably wouldn't have been able to pick it out. She was in the room he had reserved for her months ago when she had first taken the job as liaison between the Seireitei and Hueco Mundo. To his knowledge she had never spent a night in the room, which begged the question, why was she there now?

He knocked on the door, waited for a minute, and opened it when he didn't get an answer. Sui-Feng was laying on her bed with her hands tucked behind her head. She was awake but didn't even turn to look at him when he walked in. He set the box gently on the floor next to the bed and sat down beside it. "Not much for parties?" he asked.

"Not much for tracking two hundred simultaneous security risks." She corrected in a tone that told Kinji she was tired.

"What about the part at Kyoraku's estate that we went to? You seemed alright then."

"I had a platoon of Onmitsukido bodyguards monitoring the party. And there were no arrancars there. Why are you doing this?"

"The party?"

"Not just the party. All of this. The diplomacy, the establishing of economic ties, the creation of a durable command structure. You told me your plans, why make long term preparations like that?" she asked, life and energy coming back into her voice.

"Because the world will probably go on after I die. Yes what I plan on doing will probably mean war but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't set up a basis for peace if I get myself killed. And I'm throwing the party because it's Christmas. It's a human holiday to celebrate the coming of joy and life into the world. I shouldn't need and excuse beyond that."

"If you were a normal person that might be true. But with you there are always other questions that need to be asked."

"Are there now." Kinji mused. He wasn't sure he liked being described like that.

"Yes. Like, why did you give me a room with a bed more than big enough for two people." now that might have been a line if it had come from someone else. But knowing Sui-Feng she was probably asking a genuine question.

"Hmmm, I wonder." Kinji said suggestively. The real reason was because he had stocked all the guest rooms with large beds for the sake of comfort. But she didn't have to know that. She kicked him lightly with her her foot. Kinji sighed and answered her real question. "Because I wanted to make some good memories with everyone while there was still time. And on that note-" He picked up the box and set it on the bed. He had his back to her but he could feel her move to a position where she could open the box. He looked over his shoulder, he didn't want to miss this moment. She pulled the ribbon off the box and froze when the top popped open.

"T-this is..." Her reaction was all Kinji could have hoped for. Things might be going to hell in short order but at least would have this one memory. This one bright and shining moment to look back on when things got bad. Sui-Feng was on the edge of tears when her gift popped its head out of the box.

"_Meow._"

"Merry Christmas, Shaolin."

**A/N: This was supposed to be the chapter I posted on Christmas but I didn't have it finished in time. As always reviews are appreciated. **


	25. Eros and Errors

Kinji Chapter 25

"Take it off." Sui-Feng commanded. Kinji gave her a vacant expression. He was at his desk slaving over some paperwork dealing with the trade between Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. The last thing he had expected was his fiance' to kick in his office door and demand he remove his clothes. The situation had caused the spinning hard-drive that was his brain to crash and reboot. He was still putting his thoughts back in order when she marched over and yanked him out of his chair.

"What're you on about?" He complained as he crashed to the floor. Sui-Feng started pulling at his collar to try and expose his shoulder.

"I'm trying to get a good look at something. Now take it off!"

"Hey, quit that!" He grabbed her wrist and tried to twist her hand away from her collar. He did something he couldn't quite see and he wound up flat on his back with Sui-Feng on top of him pulling his shirt apart.

"Nii-sama, we're leaving and wanted to sa-" Isane said as she slid open the door to Kinji's office. She saw Kinji with his shirt open gripping Sui-Feng's yellow sash while she straddled his chest with one hand on his bare shoulder and the other on the side of his face. "Oh, Im sorry. I didn't- I mean I wanted to- Sorry!" she stuttered before sliding the door shut again. After a few seconds Sui-Feng went back to trying to pull Kinji's shirt and jacket off.

"Seriously, what the hell are you doing?"

"I want to see it. Now take your clothes off or I'll tear them off." The meaning of the words could have been taken a number of ways but Kinji had a good idea of what she was talking about

"You can wait until after we're married." he said while trying to grasp her hands and keep her from making good on her threat.

"The wedding is in a week. Don't be such a-" Isane stood there outside the office paralyzed with indecision. Or possibly with embarrassment. Renji walked up to find her red-faced and chewing on her nails.

"What's going on?" he asked with some hesitation.

"They're- I mean I- Nothing. Nothing's going on." Isane said, as if convincing herself that she hadn't seen a single thing.

"Right." Renji walked over to the office door and raised his hand to knock when he heard Kinji yelling.

"Dammit, woman, no means no!"

"Not with me. Now shut up and strip already!" Renji heard Sui-Feng's voice and his hand froze. No one could pay him enough to walk in on the Captain of Division 2 during what he assumed was a little afternoon delight. He stepped back from the door quickly and turned toward Isane. He took her by the hand and walked quickly away.

"You're right. Nothing's going on." Renji said, echoing what Isane had said.

"Shouldn't we let them know about the wedding before leaving?" she asked.

"I'm sure they won't mind waiting to hear about it." Renji said, looking nervously over his shoulder at Kinji's office door. The last time he got between Kinji and Sui-Feng he had been sick for a month. And that was just a joke. If he interrupted them now... the possibilities gave him chills.

"It's just a tattoo. What's the big deal?" Kinji said once Sui-Feng finally had his back exposed. She had seen his bare back before, the first time was in the infirmary shortly after Lin stabbed him. Back then he had a single, if somewhat large, tattoo of a fox on his left shoulder. He had acquired quite a few more since then and they covered a generous portion of his back. Sui-Feng saw the fox, a snake, a lion, a deer, a whirlwind, an oni with a club, some kind of bird, a blue fractal pattern, and a kanji for ocean. But the one that stood out was on the opposite shoulder from the fox tattoo and it was still somewhat red from its recent application. But it was undeniable what the tattoo was. The stylized wasp was drawn to let the stinger curve down onto his back while the head was on his shoulder.

"...Are you a masochist?" she asked after a long pause. Kinji looked sharply over his shoulder at her. She had a light blush on her face but her eyes were steady and she didn't flinch away from his gaze. He thought very hard about the question, and clenched his mouth shut to avoid some smartass comment about marrying her being evidence in support of her theory.

"I don't mind pain, especially for something like this." he rubbed the tender skin with one hand. "This is proof of something very important."

"Something important?"

"Commitment and resolve." Sui-Feng gingerly ran her own fingers over the tattoo. She'd heard about it from Kinji's mother, who happened to disapprove of Kinji's new hobby, but she hadn't quite believed it until now.

"I like it." she said quietly, showing a much softer side of her personality, a side that had been seen by only a handful of people and one black kitten. Kinji held very still. He didn't want to do anything to end this moment. As her hand slid over the tattoo he felt his heart beat quicken. He was suddenly very aware of his lack of shirt and the fact that the woman he loved was touching him. It was something still very new to him and he still found the closeness very stimulating. The scent of her hair, the smooth feel of her fingers, the exciting vulnerability of letting his guard down so completely.

Sui-Feng noticed the hungry look Kinji was giving her but didn't pull back. She ran her hand across his shoulder and over his collarbone then down to his abdomen. She found firm muscle and solid bone wherever she ran her fingers and gave Kinji a sly smile. Kinji, not content to remain passive ran his own hand over her smooth cheek and tangled in her short hair. He pulled her close, the height difference not causing problems because Kinji was sitting down. The kiss was something starving but hesitant, like a man finding water in the desert but afraid to drink it for fear it was an illusion. Sui-Feng leaned into him and he let her sleight weight push his back to the floor. Sui-Feng smiled into the kiss when she tasted the fading notes of whiskey on her future husband's tongue. A little something to make the paperwork go down easier, most likely. She didn't care for liquor but she liked that she'd caught him doing something he shouldn't be doing.

Kinji was too lost in the feeling of what they were doing to realize what Sui-Feng had just learned. He broke off the kiss and moved to her neck, kissing and nipping at sensitive spots and felt his heart soar when she pressed herself more tightly against him, trying to get more contact. Kinji got the base of her neck and growled in irritation when his mouth met the fabric of her uniform. He freed his hand from her hair to tug the collar of her clothes further open while his other hand grasped the yellow sash that kept her coat tied shut. He pulled the knot apart slowly, his mischievous nature enjoying the idea that he was getting away with something right under the spymaster's nose. He appreciated the sudden twitch of surprise that ran through her body when her coat suddenly fell open. She moved down and kissed him firmly on the lips, biting his lower lip a little as a light chastisement for the trick. But she broke the kiss and discarded the Captain's haori herself. Kinji's hands were instantly sliding over her bare back and pulling her down.

The two of them were so lost in each other, lost in the tastes and smells and sensations of their shared moment. The sweet smell of honeysuckle mixed with the smoky scent of incense overwhelmed the two of them and made them blind to their surroundings. They didn't hear Sun-Sun's knock on his office door.

"Lord Kotetsu, you asked me t-" Sun-Sun said as she slid the door open to deliver the most recent missives from Central 46 regarding the tariffs they intended to levy on the products he was selling through the Kotetsu merchants. She didn't notice the position he was in before almost tripping over the two passion-addled soul reapers laying on the floor. She gave them a quick glance, stepped around the two mortified betrothed and put the thin stack of papers on his desk. She made no move to leave the room after delivering her papers. "Don't mind me. Please, continue." she said without shame.

"Sun-Sun. I would deeply appreciate it if you would leave." Kinji said in a voice shaking from a insanity inducing cocktail of emotions. The arrancar stayed where she was for a moment too long and incurred the wrath of the Captain of Division 2. Sui-Feng didn't speak a word, didn't give any warning. In the blink of a startled eye Sun-Sun found herself flying out the very high window of Kinji's office and dropping with alarming speed toward the sand of Hueco Mundo's desert. She wasn't in any real danger of injury but the fact that it happened faster than she could react frightened her. The amount of time it took to pick someone up and throw them was greater than the time it would take to inflict a fatal wound. She had come very close to death.

Kinji put a hand over his face in exasperation. Sun-Sun had just interrupted something he found very enjoyable, but he also acknowledged that it was a mistake. For nobles to have sex before marriage was more than frowned upon, it was strictly forbidden. Unlike the majority of those in the Soul Society nobles were capable of procreation. For them that made sex more than just a bonding experience or something enjoyable to do. It was the action that tied bloodlines and engendered commitments that would last for a thousand years. Making that kind of commitment outside of marriage was considered a betrayal of your family's trust. After all, when you belonged to a noble family you took on the mantle of power, and those with power were given the responsibility that went with it. When he took his hand away from his eyes he saw Sui-Feng glance away from him, refusing to make eye contact. Shame was plain on her face and Kinji couldn't help but feel an echo of it in himself.

Sui-Feng prided herself on control and renunciation of selfish desires. It was even the motto of Division 2. This lapse was a serious one, almost unforgivable in her eyes. Kinji swallowed the bitter sense of failure and opted for damage control. "Sorry. That was my fault. I shouldn't have-"

"Don't do that." she said harshly. "Don't lie to make me feel better."

"...Sorry." Kinji said again. He had a sudden attack of anger directed at himself. Anger that he had momentarily forgotten the promise he made to her, anger that he hadn't known her well enough to not make the mistake, and anger that he'd let his feelings run roughshod over his good sense. But he shoved that away. The anger would do him no good here, the mistake was made and there was nothing passion could do about that. No, all he could do was accept the mistake and move ahead. "I forgot myself for a moment." He stood up and picked up his discarded clothes. "I'm going to take a nice cold shower. Will you still be here when I get back?" Sui-Feng looked back over at him, some of the anger gone after his apology sank in. Her eyes went briefly to his waist then flicked away again, the color in her face now a mix of anger and some essentially feminine emotion she couldn't identify, a feeling triggered by the reminder that Kinji desired her and that desire had made him lose control.

"I'll stay. I need to go feed Kohaku so I'll be in my room," she had named the cat Kohaku for the warm amber eyes he had. Kinji nodded and opened the door. He was about to close it again but he stopped and turned back toward Sui-Feng.

"I love you, I really do. But I'm not perfect, I'll forget things, I'll make mistakes, I might even manage something incredibly stupid from time to time. All I can promise is that I'll never stop trying."

"I know. But don't expect me to go easy on you when you do something stupid." she said with a slight smile. Kinji returned the smile and closed the door.

* * *

"Meow" the kitten's voice turned her ramrod straight back to warm butter every time she heard it. She scooped up the kitten and placed him on her shoulder. He sank his forward claws into the thick fabric of her haori and hung off the back of her shoulder while nuzzling close to her neck. She'd never met anything so adorable. She went to her closet and pulled out the bag of food and little dish with a smiling cat face on the side. She had to admit, Kinji was a fairly considerate person. He had bought food, a dish, and a sand box along with the kitten so she wouldn't have to do any of the legwork necessary when getting a new pet.

But he wasn't safe. He wasn't in control enough for her to completely let down her guard. He wasn't Lady Yoruichi. Sui-Feng let out a deep sigh as the thought finally crystallized enough for her to figure out what had been nagging at her. Somewhere deep down she had been hoping for a connection like she had with Lady Yoruichi. But, after what happened in his office, she realized she couldn't get that from Kinji and she wasn't sure if she had been right to expect it. He trusted her, he cared for her, he was probably willing to die for her. But he couldn't be her object of adoration or something for her to aspire to. He was an equal, a peer. She could trust him but she couldn't depend on him, not the way she had depended on Lady Yoruichi when she was still Captain of Division 2. He had her back, but unlike being a subordinate, she would have to have his in equal measure. Which wasn't bad, she decided. It just wasn't what she was expecting.

She took Kohaku off her shoulder and set him in front of the food dish. He ate but he didn't just scarf the food outright. He ate calmly, methodically, and didn't completely finish his dish. Then he jumped back onto her shoulder and purred. She petted the adorable little feline as he rubbed his head on her cheek. Kinji had seemed much happier lately too. He'd told her he had found a way out of the political mess Yamamoto had thrown him into. She supposed that was part of it. The engagement was another part. But the change in him had happened before that and it had been very sudden. She hadn't asked him directly. He had promised not to lie to her and she believed, slip-ups notwithstanding, that he would honor that promise.

But her instincts told her that she shouldn't ask. At least, not for a while. He was happy and he was making long-term plans. She didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth on this one. She scratched behind Kohaku's ear gently and wondered how her Division was getting along without her. She still hadn't appointed a lieutenant and her 3rd Seat was feeling the pressure. She'd have to get around to that eventually. But no one she'd interviewed had been worth the clothes on their backs, not that Omaeda had been of much use either but he had managed to get his work in consistently on time.

Even her own Division lacked the kind of candidate she was looking for. She needed some independent thought from her subordinate but she also needed someone who would back her up no matter what. She pictured Kinji serving as her Lieutenant and suppressed a chuckle. It was impossible with the kind of political enemies he'd made. It was also seen as inappropriate for married soul reapers to be in the same command structure. Although that degenerate Ushii and his arrancar wife somehow managed to get away with it.

Sui-Feng used a cat-tail toy to tease Kohaku and let him get some exercise while she waited for Kinji to get back from his shower. Sadly her day was never destined to go that smoothly.

* * *

Kinji had just finished toweling off . He had stayed in the shower until his lips were tinted slightly blue. He had the towel secured around his waist when he stepped out into his room, which was a very good thing since he had company. Reiko Tenshin was standing in his bedroom, between Kinji and his zanpakuto. Kinji froze. He did so on purpose because his gut level reaction could only be described as murderous. Reiko Tenshin was one of the three main conspirators of the Blood Faction and, now that he knew enough to look, he could feel Miko's power in her.

His mind played out half a dozen ways in which he could kill her in the space of three seconds. His heart physically ached with the need to destroy the woman in front of him. His hands were curled into fists so tight he would have bruises on his palms later. His wildly flaring reiatsu reduced any residual water on his body to steam.

"Lord Kotetsu. It has been some time." The elegant woman bowed without taking her eyes off her enemy. "You're faring better than I expected in this harsh environment."

"Lady Tenshin. What an unexpected honor." Kinji said in a mechanically polite voice that had very little connection to his current thoughts which mainly focused on the meaning and variations of the verb "flense". Kinji saw Kitsunebi shaking where she was leaned against the wall. The sword rattled in it's sheath but Kinji couldn't tell if it was resonating with his anger or if Kitsunebi had finally woken up after being restored in his soul space. But that wasn't the point he needed to focus on. "If you don't mind, these are my private chambers. I would appreciate some privacy so I can make myself decent." He wanted to badly to lash out at her. He could, he might even manage to kill her, but that would kick off a war between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo well before he needed it to start. It would effectively draw all attention from the Blood Faction while they searched for the Hogyoku and it would weaken the standing forces of the Seireitei and make a hostile takeover far easier. It was tactically brilliant and had the added benefit of potentially killing him, cutting the head off their enemy and minimizing Hueco Mundo's threat.

But Reiko was too much the politician to do something that would cost her life to benefit others. There was no way in hell she would actually place herself in danger, and after what happened to Lin she would know that simply having the Mirror didn't make you invincible. So, what was the trick? What was the secret that made such a daring ploy possible? She was either supported by a strike team far in superior to Hueco Mundo's standing forces, unlikely, or she wasn't truly here. Kinji decided the latter option was probably the truth.

"I apologize for the breach of manners but I happen to have received a letter from your brother. It was left in front of my estate this morning and I decided time was of the essence in bringing it to you." She indicated a piece of paper on the nightstand next to his bed.

"You have my gratitude." Now that he knew the appearance of his hated enemy was a ploy he was able to forestall his anger with the idea of being manipulated yet again by these people. But then an idea flitted across his mind. These people had been subverting the law in order to protect themselves and lash out at Kinji and Yamamoto, why couldn't he do the same. Soul Society's laws were archaic and extensive, many of them still technically relevant but almost never used or enforced. And one such outdated law struck him as perfectly appropriate for the situation. "However, you have done me great insult by coming here unannounced and an even greater dishonor by entering my private chambers without invitation. I call for satisfaction." Reiko's practiced expression was too good to slip but the paleness of her face told him she hadn't accounted for this possibility. After all, she had probably orchestrated all the legal trouble he'd had since this mess began over a century ago. If someone doesn't learn to fight back against a tactic after 100 years it's a fairly safe bet they aren't going to learn, let alone drag out a convention that hadn't been used for over 600 years.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand." she lied.

"The Code of Honor, as laid down by the Soul King himself, allows for a duel to be called when a noble finds himself harmed in any way by another noble. I take it you came here with an entourage of some kind?"

"I did."

"Then you have one hour to choose your second and meet me on the battlefield of my choosing. As the challenged you have the right to choose the method of combat."

"Zanjutsu." she replied without hesitation. It was the only right choice according to the information the Tenshin had on him. His hakuda rating was very high and his kido mastery was nothing to sneeze at. His official marks in zanjutsu, both in the Onmitsukido and later in the Gotei 13, were marginal at best. "I think you're being foolish but if I recall the code of Honor correctly I don't have any recourse other than to accept your challenge."

"Well, the alternative is for you to commit suicide." Now that the shock had worn off Reiko seemed much less worried, lending credibility to the idea that she had some reason to be confident of her survival. "Now, if you would please get out of my bedroom so I can dress, I will meet you in front of the palace in an hour." Kinji said with a hateful grin. Reiko left and he rushed to get dressed. He pause briefly to try communicating with Kitsunebi but all he got was silence. That troubled him but he pushed it aside for the moment. This certainly wasn't how he predicted the day would turn out but now he had to go fight a duel. And he needed a second, preferably someone powerful.

It only took a moment for him to decide on Sui-Feng and he proceeded down the hallway to her room."

* * *

"Under the terms of the duel neither of you are allowed to use hakuda or kido, nor are you allowed to proceed beyond the boundaries of the designated battlefield. If you violate either of these rules their lives will be declared forfeit and it will be the duty of the Moderator, myself, to see to their punishment." Captain Byakuya Kuchiki had been in the middle of a very relaxing afternoon when Kinji had opened a garganta inside his home and asked him for this favor. Byakuya was a little tempted to call for satisfaction himself but Kinji hadn't actually set foot in his home uninvited. Once he heard who Kinji was duelling he immediately agreed to be the Moderator. Now he stood on the white sands of Hueco Mundo for the first time since the Winter War and gave level looks to both duelists. "Should punishment be required I would consider it an injury to my pride if I left so much as a finger in tact."

Kinji felt a slight chill wash over him along with the warning. Byakuya was completely serious. Forget any alliance he had, any personal attachment, and respect he might have had for either of them. If either of them stepped a toe out of line he would turn them into a bloody smear. Byakuya Kuchiki was just that kind of man. Reiko didn't look very concerned. In fact she looked thoughtful, as if the warning Byakuya had just handed down was something that could play out to her advantage.

Reiko didn't look much like a fighter, she was wrapped in a number of fine robes like the old court women of imperial Japan, her long raven hair was piled up and secured with golden ornaments, her hands looked thing an delicate. But the nodachi in her hand said she knew her way around a blade. She had very distinctive and beautiful facial features including high cheekbones, it wasn't hard to see why the 20th head of the Tenshin had married her. But behind those pleasant features were dark eyes of calculating cruelty. If she had been married for her looks then she had married into the Tenshin for the power and status. Kinji wondered for a moment if she had been driven to such a life or if there was something about who she was that had brought her to this point. It didn't matter, he decided. He drew his blade and tried once again to hear Kitsunebi's voice. His connection to his zanpakuto was stronger than it had ever been, he could taste Kitsunebi's presence in his mind, but all he heard was a deafening silence. So be it.

He released his zanpakuto without calling its name, something only a bankai user was capable of, as a show of intimidation. Fire dripped from his sword like burning napalm and turned sand to glass. Reiko, seemingly unimpressed, drew her long blade and took an on-guard stance. Kinji scoured the shape of the blade for anything that might reveal its nature or abilities. The ordinary looking round tsuba gave him no hints, neither did the plain grip. The only unusual thing about it was that it was a nodachi. He shifted his feet into a more aggressive stance and waited for Byakuya to give the signal.

The spectators were all lined on the towers surrounding the battlefield, even Halibel and Ulquiorra had decided to watch the spectacle. Sui-Feng was standing on the roof of one of the towers rather than on one of the balconies. She wanted to be down there but Byakuya had forbidden it. He would pay for that at some point, one didn't forbid Sui-Feng anything, but for the moment she was too intent on the duel. She knew nothing of Reiko Tenshin's fighting ability, the woman had never been part of the Gotei 13 or any other organization of the Soul Society. The Commander of the Onmitsukido viewed this as a golden opportunity to gather intelligence, the fiance' of Kinji Kotetsu just wanted to go down there and stab Reiko Tenshin in the heart.

She had left Kohaku back in her room because she knew that there was no version of this that didn't get messy. After everything she'd seen, after all the unbelievable things that had happened since she'd started running with Kinji, after her cousin had betrayed the Feng family despite the awful things that would result from that action, she couldn't believe that this would end without becoming horribly complicated. She waited, hand on zanpakuto, for the mess to begin.

Byakuya drew his sword and drove it into the sand. The moment the tip of the sword disappeared from sight Kinji flash stepped toward his enemy and attempted to cut Reiko from shoulder to hip. The nodachi stopped his sword after it burned through the first satin red layer of cloth. Kinji had honestly expected to cleave right through her, zanpakuto and all. Despite having the Mirror's power she was even less powerful than Lin was. But not only did she stop his attack she shoved him back and struck his blade with enough force to make his feet slide backward in the sand. In the moment before his attack connected her reiatsu had changed dramatically. Before it had been like wind, changing direction at a whim and about as substantial as air. Now it was like a huge lake, placid but massive and heavy. It was more power than he would expect from the average Captain, more than he expected from most Captains, as a matter of fact.

But this outright power didn't mesh with Reiko's personality at all. She was a manipulator, someone who deceived with her words and enticed with her looks. Something that created illusions or enslaved minds would fit her, this massive and forceful power was completely at odds with the core of who she was. Kinji took a couple of steps back and started circling Reiko. He left a thin trail of fire in his wake, his mind spinning out plans within plans, deception layered on deception. And he had to admit, it felt good to allow his mind to work the way it was intended, but he had to remember where the line was.

As he walked he split into seven transparent copies that spread out evenly along the circle of fire. The real Kinji was just behind Reiko's left shoulder, a perfect point to strike at but that wasn't what he was doing. He just needed to keep her in place for a few more seconds. Lines of fire connected the seven figures and formed a heptagram around Reiko. The fakes disappeared when Kinji switched from using fire for generating illusions to using it as pure offense. Blue fire spiraled inward toward Reiko from the seven points to engulf and incinerate her. She reacted sluggishly but she had her sword in the guard position before the fire struck and combusted. The detonation was impressive and sent a 20 foot pillar of fire into the air. But Kinji didn't stop there, he switched back to illusion and set his image ten yards away from where he actually was. The precaution was because he didn't feel so much as a flinch in that lake of power when his attack struck home. When the sand settled he saw something he didn't expect, something so far from his range of experience that it scarcely seemed believable now that he was seeing it. A scorched ball of green flesh surrounded Reiko Tenshin like a living, pulsing shield. His fire had blackened parts of it and a clear fluid seeped out of open wounds in the mass. The flesh wall parted to reveal a largely unharmed Reiko. The green flesh disappeared back into her nodachi, flowing back into it was like watching healing kido pull spilled innards back into the stomach cavity of a wounded soldier.

The next attack by Reiko Tenshin snapped him out of his morbid interest. A green tentacle emerged from the nodachi and slapped hard at the false image he had left behind. When it simply passed through Kinji's illusion unimpeded it lashed around blindly and managed to smack into Kinji's left arm hard enough to momentarily stun the limb and Kinji could feel a bruise beginning as soon as he jumped out of range. What the hell kind of sword was that? She lashed at him again, the rope of green flesh lengthening enough to reach him. Kinji ducked and cut at the appendage. His sword scorched the thing but the keen edge bounced off like he was striking rubber.

"Engulf, Minazuki." The tentacle split in half lengthwise and expanded into a mouth. Kinji's battle-readiness failed him in that moment. Seeing a massive mouth ready to swallow him surpassed his tolerance for abstract abilities long enough for the the mouth to open wide and engulf him. The onlookers gaped in surprise and revulsion as the Lord of Hueco Mundo was swallowed up and imprisoned in a seamless ball of flesh.

"Well, I guess you're the new ruler of Hueco Mundo, Lady Halibel." Mila-Rose said with a shade of pity in her voice.

"Use your pesquisa. He isn't dead just yet." Halibel said flatly. Her three Fracciones lookd more intently down at the battlefield and they noticed the sudden expansion of the flesh prison. When they did as their master instructed they felt Kinji's power multiply. The prison exploded in a blinding flash of blue fire that left a dark spot in everyone's vision for a few moments.

Kinji emerged from the death trap with his bankai active and all nine tails waving menacingly. He wasn't sure how she had done it, but Reiko Tenshin was using Minazuki, Retsu Unohana's zanpakuto. And now that he'd made the connection he could feel how similar Reiko's reiatsu had become to Unohana's. The Mirror had allowed him to copy another soul reaper's zanpakuto abilities but not their reiatsu. And he certainly wasn't able to just summon them at will. He remembered Lin's bankai and how it had materialized distorted copies of soul reapers along with their zanpakutos. Was this a variation on that power? He could certainly feel the unnatural energy of one of the artifacts pulsing like a living thing inside Reiko and her weapon. He felt his chest pulsing in time with the evil energy in Reiko. No, not his chest. He looked down at the silver fox mask hanging from the thin red thread tied behind his neck. He'd never tried putting it on before, he wasn't sure what would happen. With each pulse the feeling that he should put it on grew stronger.

"What the hell?" Kinji muttered to himself in resignation to what would likely turn out to be a very stupid idea. He grabbed the mask in one hand, wondering why it felt to damn heavy, and placed it on his face. He'd expected it to feel cold. It was something of a surprise when it felt warm, much more of a surprise when he felt it tighten on his face.

In that moment three things happened. First, Kinji disappeared from the spiritual senses of everyone in Hueco Mundo. One moment he was there like a magnesium flare, too bright to be ignored by anyone with their eyes open, and the next he ceased to exist. Second, Akon's surveillance equipment began to short out and the reiatsu detection sensors overheated and died. Third, Reiko Tenshin's skin split open revealing something that looked like a dried out corpse wearing a Captain's haori.

Kinji didn't feel overwhelmed or strained by the sudden change in his power. What he felt was a very intense sense of purpose focused on eliminating the knot of wrongness in front of him. Everything else, all his plans and intentions were pushed so far to the back of his mind that they might as well not have existed. If someone had asked him his name at that moment he probably couldn't have told them. Before the malformed replica of Retsu Unohana could attack again one of Kinji's tails pierced its chest and poured fire into the walking husk.

* * *

**Soul Society- Tenshin Mansion**

Reiko Tenshin opened her eyes in her locked bedroom where she had spent the last day manipulation her double. She hadn't believed the artifact in her hands could control one of its constructs across a dimension but the spirit inside it had assured her it could do that and much more. It had given her the way to set Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society at each other and give her the time she needed to dig up the Hogyoku. But it was still worth it. That idiot Kotetsu had stepped over a line. He had dipped a toe into ascendency without one of the three relics. He would pay a heavy price for that.

* * *

**Hueco Mundo**

Kinji took the mask off once the construct was gone and the irresistible impulse had dimmed to something he could resist. It was hard to take off, clinging to his skin before he let it drop back to his chest. The sudden loss of power made his head swim but he quickly redjusted to his normal level of strength. Kinji seized on that thought, his normal level of power? He felt weaker than he had before he put the mask on. He started to reseal his zanpakuto but stopped when he concentrated on his tails. There were only eight of them. Another wave of weakness hit him and his bankai disappeared. Kitsunebi's sealed form dropped to the sand next to him. Nausea followed the weakness and Kinji was powerless to resist. He vomited onto the sand, his muscles locked up and he couldn't move. When the tears cleared from his eyes he saw blood mixed in with the bile. More blood dripped from his face, from his nose and eyes. He wanted to call for the medics, or Akon, or Isane. But he couldn't move or even speak.

Sui-Feng was there before Kinji collapsed into the stained sand. She barked orders using Kinji's com device and hauled Kinji back toward the main palace along with his zanpakuto. Kinji, still conscious but paralyzed, hung limply in her arms. He could feel his heart slowing down, and not in a good way. His last thought before he blacked out was that he could taste blood in his mouth.

"Kinji?" Sui-Feng shook him when she felt him go completely limp. She put her ear against his neck and didn't hear him breathing. "Kinji!"

**A/N: I'm going on hiatus for a while. Not sure how long but it will be for at least a few weeks. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned this story nor do I intend to. As always reviews are appreciated.**


	26. Beginning of the End

Chapter 26

The beeping of the various monitoring machines was just so much background noise to Sui-Feng. Kinji was in a bed with so many wires and tubes connected to him that she had to wonder if his body had any functionality left at all. She glanced at the computer screen next to his bed, only a few of the readouts making any sense to her. If it was a normal medical readout she would understand it, it wasn't like she didn't understand the normal workings of the body on a medical level, but this was something Akon had set up when the medics had thrown up their hands in frustration.

She wanted to hit somebody, anybody. Reiko Tenshin ideally, since the bitch had started this whole mess by appearing in her fiance's bedroom unannounced. But, honestly, she just wanted to do something, anything to help. Kinji had decided on his own how to solve a problem then expected her to go along with it. She had gone along with it, she trusted him and knew he would go along with her if she had been forced to make something up on the spot. But then he went and put on the damn mask without the faintest idea what would happen. She was going to make him pay for that when he got better. She put her hand on his cold forehead and tried to tell herself that he would get better, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary.

"Anything to report?" she asked in her normal brisk tone when Akon walked in.

"The quality of his reishi has been fundamentally altered. If you hadn't gotten him to me so quickly he would have certainly died." The scientist said. Even though the change was fascinating he just couldn't find the energy to get excited about it. "I don't know the how or why yet, but I'm looking into a similar case of a soul reaper from 400 years ago. A man named Baishin had similar readings …" Akon trailed off when he realized how the rest of that story would sound to Sui-Feng. But he didn't have to say anything. Sui-Feng had been part of the team to reseal Baishin after the Ryoka Invasion was resolved.

"He's merging with his zanpakuto." Sui-Feng stated. Akon looked startled by her blunt, and partially correct, assessment of the situation.

"How did- nevermind. It isn't that cut and dry. He stopped the merging process partway, which is why his zanpakuto still has its own physical form. But the transfer of power and reishi was more hazardous because the merger was stopped. It hasn't fully integrated with his body and the foreign reishi is cannibalizing his. Or, it was until a short time ago."

"And what is it doing now?"

"Adapting and replacing damaged portions of his body. I don't know what the long term effect-" Sui-Feng cut him off with a look.

"Will he make a full recovery?"

"I- physically he'll be fine. But the last time someone merged with a zanpakuto they had a psychotic episode and went on a killing spree that left 63 ranked officers dead. And Baishin wasn't a Captain level soul reaper before he merged with his sword." Akon hadn't wanted to break the bad news quite so harshly but Sui-Feng hadn't let him beat around the bush. The assassin took that news in stride.

"No one but I or Isane comes in or out of this room. Understood?" Akon may have been part of the Gotei 13 but he'd never really taken on the militaristic aspects of that life. That being said, he unconsciously came to attention when the command in Sui-Feng's voice hit him.

"I understand." Akon watched Sui-Feng go with a sigh of relief. "I should have known I wouldn't be dealing with sane people when I came to Hueco Mundo." He lamented.

* * *

"I underestimated him." Ulquiorra admitted. "But he is still a fool."

"I won't argue that point." Halibel agreed.

"He's a complete dumbass." Grimmjow corrected. The three Espadas were sitting in the hall Aizen had once used to conduct their meetings. Halibel had called them and the Privaron Espadas and Fracciones together to discuss what they should do.

"That may be true. El Nino Loco has nearly gotten us all killed on many occasions." Dordoni admitted.

"But he did manage to get us a peace treaty with the Soul Society, fool or not." Sun-Sun spoke up, grudgingly defending the indisposed Lord of Hueco Mundo.

"Peace treaty? Who the hell cares?!" Grimmjow sneered. "He's just going to use us and throw us away like Aizen did."

"The strong lead and the weak follow, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra reminded Espada number 6.

"Bullshit. If that was true we'd all be licking the sandals of that old bastard that leads the soul reapers."

"Shut up, Grimmjow." Halibel commanded.

"What did you say, bitch?" he growled. Before the flaring tempers could come to a head the moment was broken when Sui-Feng kicked in the doors.

"I just received word that Kinji Kotetsu will make a full recovery. I thought you might want to know before you made any plans to kill him in his bed.

"I assure you, no such plans were being considered. What we are here to discuss is the defense plan for Las Noches." Ulquiorra's monotone voice made no echo despite the acoustics of the room. Sui-Feng walked slowly to the table and took a seat.

"Then let me give you a few pointers. During the first invasion of Hueco Mundo, Aizen set you up as training dummies. If you really want to defend this place, muster the Adjuchas and Gillians from the Forest. Use them as fixed weapon placements and cannon fodder to wear down the enemy troops before you take the field. Release your zanpakuto when battle starts and overwhelm the enemy. There's nothing here for you to worry about collateral damage so attack with overwhelming force." Sui-Feng had no reservations sharing this kind of tactical information because she knew two things: This enhanced defense would be used against the Tenshin first and she knew exactly how to counter this kind of strategy.

"Why the hell should we listen to you?" Grimmjow's question was followed by grumbled of assent from nearly everyone at the table.

"I want to mount Reiko Tenshin's head on a pike. If you idiots can defend yourselves long enough for me to get a clear shot at her that just makes it easier." Sui-Feng said, her voice cold enough to send shivers up the spines of the more easily intimidated arrancars in the room. "Besides, Kinji would tell you the same thing if he were here. Well, he'd probably tell you to execute some convoluted and tricky plan while the ceros were flying. I like to be more direct." There were a few nods from the Privaron Espadas and Fracciones.

"You are one cold bitch." Grimmjow said appreciatively.

"You said he would make a recovery. When?" Halibel asked.

"Akon said he didn't know."

"Was it because of the power he used?" Halibel pressed. Sui-Feng showed the arrancars nothing but her poker face.

"It was." Ulquiorra stated definitively. Sui-Feng didn't so much as blink.

"How in the hell would you know that?"

"I viewed the hollowfication research compiled by Lord Aizen and Kisuke Urahara. Power that is visible but not present to spiritual senses is a sign of transcendent power. Achieving transcendence requires the merging of three extremely powerful individual existences into a single form. Kinji Kotetsu achieved transcendent power for a short time without creating a "Trinity". It stands to reason he is suffering the consequences of such a foolhardy choice." The pale arrancar looked far to calm for someone revealing the secrets of transcending the limits of hollows and soul reapers.

"I see." Halibel said, rolling the idea over in her mind. "Do you have anything to add?" she asked Sui-Feng. The only soul reaper in the room said nothing. "Then I suppose there is nothing left to discuss. I'll call another meeting in a few hours. Use the time to prepare for an invasion."

* * *

"It's been a while, Sui-Feng." Yoruichi patted her former protégé's head fondly. "What brings you to the World of the Living?" For the first time since their 100 year reunion, Sui-Feng didn't look happy to see her old mentor. "This is about politics, isn't it?"

"It is." Sui-Feng said, holding her emotions carefully in check. "Why haven't the Shihouin intervened? Or the Kuchiki? I have eyewitness testimony that the Tenshin conspired to commit treason. I have video footage of Reiko Tenshin's use of forbidden abilities. I have Lin Feng's full confession. So why?" Yoruichi didn't say anything at first. Then she went to a closet in Urahara's store room and pulled out a folder full of photographs and written reports.

"24. The Tenshin planted 24 of their agents in Central 46. If we made a move Central 46 would apply severe pressure. Basically? Our hands are tied. The Kotetsu told them to shove it up their asses and paid the price. Their home was attacked, their family torn apart, and they've been forced to basically commit treason to prevent the Tenshin from swallowing Soul Society whole. It's just like 100 years ago." Yoruichi pulled out a jug of sake and two cups. She poured until the cups were full and handed one to Sui-Feng.

"What do you mean?" Sui-Feng asked.

"100 years ago… Aizen outmaneuvered everyone. He used the political system to guide the actions of the Gotei 13 then used it to entrap us, forcing us into exile. Then, with everyone out of his way, he built an army, stole forbidden knowledge, and nearly destroyed the Gotei 13. If Ichigo hadn't stopped him he would have invaded the Soul King's Palace." Yoruichi drained her cup and poured another.

"So we fell for the same trick twice." Sui-Feng said bitterly.

"Yeah. But don't think we've been sitting on our asses this whole time. We helped establish the economic ties with Hueco Mundo, guaranteed shipping routes, and supplied technology. We even called in favors to keep Tenshin agents from infiltrating Las Noches when Kinji had his little recruitment drive. But if one of the four Great Noble Houses actively and openly attacks another one then everything collapses. I want to do more, but…"

"But you have to think about the Shihouin clan." Sui-Feng finished for her. "I'm so sick of hearing about politics." Sui-Feng tossed back her cup of sake. Yoruichi was surprised that she would, Sui-Feng usually didn't drink no matter how much pressure was heaped on her to do so. "You and Kinji and the Captain Commander can worry about politics. I'm going to go fix the problem." The expression on Sui-Feng's face was calm and set. Yoruichi knew that expression and it worried her. It was the same expression she saw in the mirror the night she fled the Seireitei 100 years ago. It was the expression of someone who was resigned to do something they knew would cost them dearly. And given the way Sui-Feng tended to solve her problems there was bound to be a good deal of collateral damage.

The former Captain of Division 2 watched her successor closely for any sign of what she was about to do while she refilled the empty cups. "Do you know why we have politics?" she asked. Sui-Feng shook her head, a disgusted look on her face. "So we have options other than just killing each other any time interests conflict."

"And should we keep talking politics when we know the other person's only goal is killing us? That seems suicidally stupid."

"But what if this person is holding someone hostage? What do you do then?"Yoruichi replied smoothly. Sui-Feng glared at her for a moment before the look softened to simple frustration.

It was a familiar, almost comfortable moment. Knowledge passing from master to student as it had so many times before they had been separated. But it couldn't last in the face of the choices weighing down on them both. "They picked the wrong hostage. If the system is already so corrupt that it disobeys the orders of the one who gave it authority then it should die."

"You might be right. But what about all the souls who rely on the current system? We took an oath to protect them."

"Letting an infection fester like this is wrong." Sui-Feng said, avoiding the more uncomfortable questions her teacher was asking. "I'm going to burn it away all at once." Sui-Feng stood and marched out the door with an unanswerable resolve. Yoruichi wanted to stop her but she wasn't sure Sui-Feng was entirely in the wrong. The Tenshin had gotten to where they had because no one was willing to accept the consequences of attacking them head on. Sui-Feng could probably do exactly what she had said she was going to do. With her skills he could almost certainly heap up a mound of corpses before anyone caught on enough to try stopping her. Yoruichi watched as Sui-Feng shut the door and didn't move from where she'd been sitting. Maybe Sui-Feng was right. Maybe it was best to lop the arm off with the cancer and just call it the price of survival.

* * *

The guards around the Tenshin compound were really quite good…for their weight class. But when you have three sentries at nearby posts die within two seconds of each other the entire security plan tends to fall apart. Sui-Feng swung her sword to clean the majority of blood from it. Once she was inside the outer barrier all she had to do was point and shoot. Her bankai would reduce Tenshin manor and its occupants to nothing but a collection of bad memories. She made to move through the gate but the barrier rejected her. Not entirely unexpected, though it was much stronger than she expected. Too strong for her to break without attracting attention. She hauled one of the guards over her shoulder and walked through the gateway, kido energy parting in front of her like a curtain. She wasn't sure if it was attuned to the guards or if they carried some kind of key but she didn't particularly care.

There were more guards inside the outer gate but none of them saw her or the corpse she was carrying in time to make a difference. Her next few flash stepped left splashes of blood on the ground under every guard in sight. A dozen more corpses littered the ground and Sui-Feng simply walked over them. The Tenshin compound was really quite large and ostentatious even compared to the Kuchiki estate. "A victory for Soul Society and architects alike." She mumbled. "Bankai: Jakuho Raikoben." A column of black and yellow metal sheathed her right arm. Normally she'd try to tie herself down or find something sturdy to brace against but she was firing from far enough away that it wouldn't be a problem. She felt calm, clear headed. She had finally found a simple path to walk and it was one she was all too familiar with. She would kill the enemies of Soul Society. She would have preferred to sneak in and simply cut the throat of everyone who needed to die but those artifacts were too dangerous. It wasn't just that they possessed powerful abilities, though she had respect verging on fear for what they could do, but they also had a presence and a will of their own that didn't seem to play by the usual rules. The man with the Sword had appeared from nowhere only a few moments after Lin had fallen. She didn't need that kind of fluke happening again. So she would strike at them with maximum force from the furthest possible distance.

"Sorry Kinji, but your brother picked the wrong side." She said. Kinji had told her his conviction on the matter and she agreed that the man with the Sword was a perfect body type match for his brother. So, since they didn't actually have a hostage, she didn't need to be precise. She clenched her fist and the missile's guiding fins sprang open. She took one last steadying breath and let it out slowly. When her lungs were empty and she was sure of her aim she fired. Fire ignited and her bankai rocketed toward the bright lights of the Tenshin manor.

* * *

Kinji sat bolt upright in his bed and tore out a number of tubes and cables that had been attached to his arms and chest. Thin trickles of blood ran from the tiny wounds but that didn't stop him from yanking out the rest of the tubes keeping him on life support. He choked and gagged when he pulled the breathing tube out of his throat but it was a minor distraction. His sword was in the same room under a glass case where its reiatsu structure was being examined. He held out a hand and the sword flew to it, shattering the glass case and landing securely in his palm. Blue fire incinerated most of the equipment and slagged the rest of it. Kinji kicked the door of his secure room so hard that it embedded itself in the opposing wall.

Akon was in his private study deep under Las Noches when he heard three different alarms go off at once. He ran over to the master terminal for Las Noches' security system and accessed the cameras in the lab where Kinji was supposed to be recovering. All he saw was blue light in a haze of black smoke. His hand moved on pure reactionary fear to press the citadel-wide emergency button.

Kinji ignored the blaring sound and red light in favor of making straight for the Espada meeting room where he could feel the most powerful arrancars gathered together. He would have kicked in the doors for dramatic effect but they were already laying on the floor. He saw the disbelieving and surprised expressions on the faces of the arrancars and realized he didn't need any additional shock and awe. "Do you all have your swords?" he asked. He got a few nods and saw that the Espadas at least had their swords. "We're going to invade the Soul Society. Immediately." He snapped his fingers and a black line split the air behind him. The darkness opened to reveal an inverted image of Karakura Town. Tia Halibel and her Fracciones flinched, the image being a near perfect copy of Aizen's portal to the World of the Living during the Winter War.

"I will remain behind to protect Las Noches." Ulquiorra said, calmly standing and walking toward the open doorway.

"Fine. The rest of you, get your asses moving. A very small and valuable window of opportunity just opened up." Losing Ulquiorra hurt but he had no accepted authority over him. He didn't have any over Halibel either but he hoped she wouldn't press the issue. Thankfully she didn't, but the look in her eyes wasn't encouraging. She looked at him like there was something wrong, or maybe it was uncertainty. If she decided to bail on him in the middle of a fight it would be a problem. Grimmjow, surprisingly, looked eager to go. He didn't mutter a single word of complaint. If anything that worried him more than Halibel hanging him out to dry. He turned toward the garganta and prepared to step through along with his most powerful soldiers.

"Lord Kotetsu." Kinji turned in controlled fury to Mila-Rose who had tapped him on the shoulder. "Look, I'm happy you're feeling more comfortable in your skin, but I don't think you're going to intimidate anyone with your… sword." She looked pointedly below his waist. Kinji had been in a medical gown while he was attached to life support but the fire he had used to burn his way clear had apparently taken a toll on the cheap fabric. He felt his face heat in painful embarrassment. He heard some snickering that was either from Ciruci or Grimmjow, or both.

"I'll be back in a moment." He said angrily and flash stepped toward his room to grab some proper clothes. He was back in less than two minutes, fully dressed and carrying a bulky mechanical device he'd commissioned from Akon when he realized he wasn't going to find the Hogyoku in Hueco Mundo. It was crude, working off the principle of sympathetic resonance, but it would be able to tell him if he was within 100 yards of the artifact.

"Orders?" Halibel asked before Kinji could step into the portal.

"Anyone wearing a Soul Society uniform, shihakusho, lab coat etc. gets knocked out. Kill everyone else. And if any of you find the Hogyoku come directly back here, don't wait for the rest of us."

"Won't those Blood Faction assholes be trying to stop us?" Apache chimed in.

"They have other problems to deal with right now." Kinji said, smiling a little too widely. "Let's go." The portal opened above the partially reconstructed replica of Karakura Town. The scavengers and guards that the Tenshin had sent had a short moment to soil themselves before the arrancars and Kinji rained hell down on them. Bala and cero blasts hit targets at an alarming rate. The few powerful guards the Tenshin had placed were quickly overwhelmed by Grimmjow's vicious physical offensive. Halibel didn't even bother to lift a finger. She clearly thought it was overkill and didn't feel like contributing to the inevitable outcome.

Kinji didn't take part in the battle either. His focus was on finding the Hogyoku, he didn't want to waste the chance Sui-Feng had given him at the cost of her position and possibly her life. The machine worked better than he'd anticipated and he used it to pinpoint the exact spot the artifact was hidden. He threw chunks of rubble and handfuls of soil into the air. He dug with frantic energy until he felt a jolt run up his arm.

The gem was covered in dirt but even through that layer of grime he could see the swirling light of the artifact that had launched the Winter War. He pulled a piece of cloth from inside his coat and used it to pick up the Hogyoku. He tucked it away and yelled to the arrancars that it was time to head back. They left three dozen corpses and a few unconscious soul reapers in their wake but the entire assault took less than two minutes. It took five minutes more before the first group of soul reapers made it to the scene in response to the distress call one soul reaper had sent before Sun-Sun choked him out. Captain Renji Abarai arrived with half of his ranking officers and nearly three dozen unranked soldiers. He set his men to gathering the survivors and figuring out where the other corpses had come from. The only people authorized to be in the replica city were the skeleton security crew that he'd left to guard the place.

Renji was less than thrilled to find that dozens of armed civilians had started digging through the place without authorization from him. He grabbed one of the soldiers who was stationed in the fake city as a guard by the collar and hauled him to his feet. The guard, whose name Renji was having trouble remembering, was just coming back to consciousness. He was physically larger than Renji but his spiritual energy was much lower.

"Inugami," Renji said from between clenched teeth, the name coming back to him, "What in the hell is going on here?"

"Arrancars! They showed up out of nowhere and started killing everyone!" Inugami sputtered out.

"I can see that, idiot. I mean who are they?" Renji gestured to the pile of dead bodies. Inugami's jaws clenched shut. His eyes dropped and looked away from his Captain. "You've got about five seconds before you're choking on broken teeth and I find someone else to ask." Renji threatened.

"They said they were scientists, gave us money just to take a look around for a few days." Inugami was talking quickly, as if he had to force the words out. "We kept an eye on them but all they did was map out the buildings and turn over some of the rubble. It wasn't a big deal." Renji laid him out with a punch to the face.

"If it wasn't a big deal then why can't you look me in the eyes? You disobeyed a direct order for a few coins. You're not fit to wear that shihakusho."

"Captain! You need to hear this!" His 8th Seat ran over to hand him a headset. Renji put it to his ear.

"-Tenshin estate had been destroyed in a large explosion. State of emergency has been declared. The wartime exemption is now in effect. There will be an emergency gathering of all Captains and Lieutenants in three hours at the Division 1 meeting hall." The message repeated itself again before Renji handed the headset back. Kinji and Sui-Feng hadn't really clued him in on exactly what was going on but he knew that the Tenshin were behind all the trouble happening recently.

"We're heading back to the Seireitei immediately. Restrain everyone who was on duty here and put up a barrier around the bodies." The Captain of the 5th Division knew what he had to do, but Renji Abarai wanted to go talk to Isane and see if she knew why he could feel her brother's reiatsu at the site of an arrancar attack on the Soul Society. But he couldn't. Not only that but he realized that a little plausible deniability would probably protect Isane and the rest of her family. All the same, Yamamoto needed to hear about this as soon as possible. Renji knew the old man had a hand in the political pie so he would probably know what to do.

* * *

Kinji could feel an intelligence at work inside the artifact. The Hogyoku was alive in the same strange way that the other artifacts were but it hadn't spoken to him yet. Maybe it couldn't when he had it bundled up and tucked away in his pocket. Kinji shook away the distraction. He had to get this thing locked away and find Sui-Feng. If his dream had been accurate, and he had no reason to believe such a vivid vision wasn't accurate, then she had technically committed over a dozen different capital crimes. He could offer her sanctuary in Hueco Mundo but if the Gotei 13 arrested her first it would mean a full scale invasion to get her back. Kinji was under no illusions, he simply didn't have the power for something so direct.

Kinji and the arrancars stepped back into Las Noches with a strange sense of accomplishment. While they were under Aizen they'd never actually had a victorious battle against soul reapers. Not that this little raid could be called a battle but curb-stomping enemy forces had a way of boosting morale. "Did you see their faces? I think we made those bastards shit themselves!" Grimmjow crowed triumphantly.

"It was complete overkill." Halibel said. She was in a much less amiable mood, not being a lover of violence like Grimmjow.

"Exactly." Kinji replied. "Overkill is exactly what I was going for. It sends a message and it doesn't take very long. If I have any luck left at all, the Gotei 13 will find the dead bodies of those Tenshin-employed scientists and start a serious inquiry as to why they were there. And without anyone from the Tenshin House to stall the investigation things might finally go my way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Apache asked.

"Oh, right. I wasn't going to tell you that. Forget I said anything." Kinji, who hadn't been out of his hospital bed for more than 30 minutes, realized his judgment might be slightly impaired from whatever medication had been in those IV stands around his bed.

"With all due respect." Sun-Sun began. Kinji held up a hand to cut her forthcoming question short.

"Whenever someone starts a sentence like that it's guaranteed to piss me off. I'll explain everything in detail after I make sure all my interests in Soul Society are secure." He pulled the Hogyoku out and unwrapped the cloth holding it. The spiraling light and energy was enticing to look at and he could sense something pushing against his mind. That sense of "something" was huge compared to the flickering spark of his own mind and he felt a tremor of fear run through him. An image of Miko's terrible not-eyes flashed in his mind, more vivid and terrible than the first time he'd seen it. He pushed back against the "other" coming from the Hogyoku and got his breathing back under control. It was powerful but it seemed like it couldn't just invade his mind and take him over. Still, the momentary loss of control is imposed on him was troubling. He would have to lock it up.

"That would be unwise." A voice to his left said. Kinji froze in place. The voice was male, cultured, and impossibly familiar. He couldn't be hearing that voice, it belonged to a dead man. "Hello, Kotetsu-kun. It's certainly been a while." Kinji forced his head to turn to the left, praying to anyone who would listen that he had just hallucinated the voice. A tall man in a Captain's haori and glasses stood there with a smile that held warmth and confidence in equal measure.

"Captain Aizen."

* * *

Sui-Feng examined the pit her Jakuho Raikoben had opened in the ground where Tenshin manor had formerly stood. She waited for the inevitable gathering of soul reapers at the scene and she left her zanpakuto on the ground yards away from her. She waited for her Division and the Onmitsukido to come and arrest her. She knew they would, it was what she had trained them to do. When they arrived she didn't resist. They put her in restraints and took her back to the2nd Division barracks. She didn't look at them, didn't speak a word. They would follow protocol like they had been taught. In a few hours or maybe a day she would be in front of Central 46.

All according to plan.

**A/N: The slow release of chapters will continue until May. My Comprehensive exams are this semester and I may need to start looking for a job the way my doctoral program applications are going. Oh, I almost forgot, happy beheaded martyr day! **


	27. Beginning of the End II

Chapter 27

"… and the willful destruction of property." The spokesman of Central 46 finished. Well, the Central 40 at the moment, six of their members had been at the Tenshin manor when it was annihilated. The list of charges had been exhaustively compiled and the spokesman had read the entire thing. Never before had one action produced such a list of charges. But when Sui-Feng set out to do something she excelled at it, even if that thing could be considered idiotic or suicidal. "Captain Sui-Feng, we believed you to be the most dedicated and loyal of the Captains. Why did you do this?" Sui-Feng's crime had been so great that it had robbed Central 46 of its self-righteous anger and replaced it with stunned disbelief.

"You already answered that question. I am the most dedicated and the most loyal, everything that I've done and everything I'm going to do is a logical result of that." A murmur ran through the room at the unrepentant answer.

"You will never do anything else Captain Sui-Feng. If you do not deny any of the charges you will be executed." The spokesman said.

"I apologize, I didn't really answer your question. You 46 are the most secured persons in the entire Seireitei. I destroyed the Tenshin manor because they were corrupting the Seireitei and breaking the laws of the Soul King. But the reason I didn't run is because there was no other way for me to end up here, in front of all of you." Sui-Feng worked a thin strip of metal loose from inside her mouth. She dropped her head and sighed as a distraction and let the piece of metal drop into her shackled hands. She had been thoroughly searched before being brought into the presence of Soul Society's governors but she knew how the guards had been taught to search prisoners so she hid her lockpick in a way that wouldn't be discovered. "The corruption the Tenshin spread has reached even here. And the only way I could remove it was to come here." Fear struck the hearts of the 40 governors, particularly the 20 who had been in contact with Eiji Tenshin and done favors for him. The restraints snapped open and Sui-Feng wasted no time in subduing her guards. She turned on the souls who had presumed to pass judgment on her and uttered a single word. "Shunko."

* * *

Aftershocks of a large explosion shook the buildings of the Seireitei for the second time in the last 5 hours. Every Captain had been gathered together for a meeting in Division 1 and they all felt the ground shake under their feet. Yamamoto shouted for silence and everyone obeyed, but the energy in the room shifted.

"Yama-jii, shouldn't we be moving out to figure out what just exploded."

"Do not panic and rush to action, Captain Kyoraku. Captain Ushii and Captain Kuchiki. Investigate this disturbance and report back." Anrak Ushii and Byakuya Kuchiki vanished from the room via flash step. The other Captains looked quizzically at the Captain-Commander. Why not temporarily end the meeting and let them deal with what was surely a crisis? Or, a crisis heaped on another crisis. They had been informed of the destruction of the Tenshin House, all members of the family were presumed dead because the sheer violence of the explosion had reduced everything to dust. They had also been informed of Sui-Feng's arrest and the probability of her guilt. But Yamamoto had kept them there in that room for far longer than most of their meetings already. He'd let them argue and debate amongst each other, which he rarely allowed except on very important matters, and they'd gone on and on.

"Captain-Commander, there is clearly more going on than we've been told. Would it be possible for you to enlighten us?" Captain Unohana asked. The old man remained silent.

"Captain Genryuusai, I simply can't believe that Captain Sui-Feng was a traitor." Captain Hitsugaya said.

"As much as I hate to agree with such ignorant thugs, the child is correct. That woman was a fanatic and as loyal as a brainwashed attack dog." Captain Kurotsuchi said. Captain Komamura bristled visibly at what could have easily been an insult aimed at him. Still the eldest soul reaper remained silent.

"Who gives a damn? Orders are orders, isn't that the same shit you've all been saying since I first got here?" Captain Zaraki said, trying to make a boring meeting better by picking a fight with everyone.

"It's a little more complicated than that, Captain Zaraki." Kyoraku said in a placating tone. "We follow the orders of Central 46 because they are invested with authority by the Royal Family. But, when Central 46 isn't Central 46, like when Aizen posed as them, we have a responsibility to restore the proper order. Isn't that right, Yama-jii?"

"That is correct. But we cannot do such a thing without absolute proof or we are simply destroying the order we swore to uphold." Yamamoto said gruffly. "Which is why we will not take action in this matter without orders from Central 46."

Kyoraku lifted his hat enough to make eye contact with his sensei. Yamamoto ignored him.

"Captain-Commander, would you permit me to tell everyone what's really going on?" Renji asked.

"Do not spread rumors here, Captain Abarai!" Yamamoto said, raising his voice. "We will await the decision of Central 46. If they have not reached a decision in another hour's time the state of emergency will be cancelled and the Gotei 13 will go about its normal duties."

"What about the 2nd Division? Without either a Captain or Lieutenant they won't be able to operate." Unohana asked.

"I have already dispatched Genshiro Okikiba to take command of the 2nd Division and the Onmitsukido. He will serve as temporary commander until this matter is resolved." The finality of his tone brought an end to any further discussion. The 9 Captains waited silently for further orders.

* * *

"This is complete bullshit." Anrak said. "You're clued in to this mess, what the hell is going on Byakuya?"

"I'm not entirely sure. There was a plan in place but what Captain Sui-Feng did was not part of that plan. However, she may have taken unilateral action." The nobleman said in his normal controlled voice. It seemed almost inappropriate for him to be that calm considering what the two of them were looking at. The building that housed Central 46 was a pile of rubble. Anrak could feel traces of Sui-Feng's reiatsu but not Sui-Feng. Of course, Sui-Feng could be standing two feet behind him and he wouldn't be able to sense her. You don't get to be Commander of the Onmitsukido by collecting boxtops. Anrak couldn't feel anyone alive in the rubble but he knew they shout send a rescue and medical team anyway.

"I think your plan has been rendered invalid." He said to the noble, sweeping his hand over the wreckage that remained of the Seireitei's central government. "Since Sui-Feng and her boytoy decided to turn politics into an uninhibited clusterfu-" Anrak almost bit his tongue when Yoruichi's fist smacked him over the head.

"Look out." Byakuya said with the dry humor. "What are you doing here, Yoruichi Shihouin?"

"Looking for survivors. And hoping to find Sui-Feng or Kinji so I can beat some sense into them. Or pat them on the back. Not really sure which one they deserve right now." The dark skinned woman said, rubbing the back of her head.

"What does hitting me have to do with any of that?" Anrak asked irritably.

"I'm just filling in for Sui-Feng. But if you called her future husband a boytoy in front of her I doubt you'd get off with just a tap to the head."

"They both disregarded the established plan and committed acts of war against the Seireitei. I think it would be appropriate to hit them until they are no longer able to move." Byakuya said.

"I'm on board with this plan." Anrak volunteered. _So am I! All you have to do is say you got carried away and the guy's out of the picture then you can-_ "That's the worst idea I've ever heard." Anrak said aloud in reply to Kagi's mental prodding.

"Has he always been so fickle?" Byakuya asked. Yoruichi tried not to smile.

"He's not fickle, he's just of two minds about a lot of things." Yoruichi said, pointing to the sword at Ushii's side. "Looks like Sui-Feng is long gone. Even I can't track her if she doesn't want to be found. But if I had to guess where she'd go it would be either Hueco Mundo or Kotetsu manor."

"I'll go talk to Kiyone, see if she'll let me take a look around her home." Anrak said.

"Going to Hueco Mundo is out of the question. After the incursion in the Rukon I suspect Las Noches is preparing to repel an invasion. Unless…" Byakuya looked toward Anrak.

"No." the brown-haired Captain said almost immediately. "No way. I'm not letting Neliel near that pervert again."

"We're on the brink of another war and your main concern is a prank that was played on your wife?" Byakuya asked.

"Damn right." Anrak didn't even hesitate to answer. Byakuya looked at him with a grudging respect.

"Then we have no way of communicating with Las Noches." That brought a tense silence to the three as they looked down on the havoc Sui-Feng had created and wondered how much damage might be done if Kinji decided to invade the Seireitei with several Espada level arrancars. Since Sui-Feng had burned the script no one knew what Kinji's next move might be and his little invasion had made his allies question his mental state. Of course, at that moment no one was questioning Kinji's mental health more than Kinji himself.

* * *

"I was really hoping you were dead." Kinji said to Captain Sousuke Aizen.

"I no longer have a body. Does that make you feel safe?" Aizen said. He looked the way Kinji remembered him, with tousled hair, glasses, and a white Captain's haori.

"Not nearly as much as it should." He turned to look at the arrancars behind him. "Are any of you seeing Aizen right now?" The looks he got told him they were and they were not happy about it, Halibel least of all. "How in God's name are you here?"

"The Hogyoku found me difficult to digest. The contact with your reiatsu allowed me to manifest." The image smiled and it looked genuine. "You've grown far beyond what I expected. I certainly didn't expect you to follow in my footsteps." Kinji had borne those kinds of insults and dispersions of character with only a grimace since he had claimed Las Noches. But because it was Aizen saying it he absolutely lost it. Even knowing it was an image Kinji lashed out. His sword appeared in his hand and blue fire scorched the space Aizen stood in. The temperature changed so abrupt and so extreme that something very like thunder echoed down the halls. The image stood there, unharmed within the flames but no longer smiling. "Perhaps not exactly in my footsteps." He admitted after seeing Kinji lose his temper.

"You have no idea how much of what you did put me in this position. You massacred Central 46, opened a wound in the Seireitei. That wound got infected and Su-. Someone very important to me was forced to throw her life away to bleed the wound clean." Kinji's rage twisted face darkened further. "My brother might be dead, all because you threw a hissy fit over being ruled by the Soul King. If you weren't already dead I'd be skinning you alive right now."

"You are strong, even by the standards of a Captain of the Gotei 13, I admit that. But I crushed the entire Gotei 13 with my own sword. If I were alive, you would already be dead at my feet." Aizen said, smug as could be. Kinji didn't give an inch. "Halibel, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow. You have my respect. I certainly didn't expect any of you to survive." The sheer hatred in the room was overwhelming, not just from Kinji and the three Espadas, but from everyone there.

"Go back to whatever hell you came from you worthless has-been." Kinji growled. "I have enough problems without you putting everyone in Las Noches in a bad mood."

"I'd be very interested in hearing about these problems. I have no shortage of time, perhaps I could be of assistance in your endeavors." Aizen blinked when Kinji lifted his hand and gave him the finger.

"Get thee behind me, asshole." Kinji said with the finality of a guillotine blade.

"I don't remember you being this…outspoken. Very well, I will take my leave for the time being." The image of Aizen faded and Kinji had to fight not to sigh with relief. The effect on the arrancars was even more profound. Most of them couldn't believe it, Kinji had just told Aizen to take a long walk off a short pier. Most of them were searching for something to say when Ciruci blurted out something that Kinji could never unhear.

"I'm so hot for you right now." Ciruci said. In the awkward silence that followed, Kinji was sure he heard someone making gagging noises. He wasn't entirely sure he disagreed with that blunt assessment.

"If I actually manage to find Sui-Feng, I promise not to tell her you said that." Kinji walked toward his office and the hidden safe he had set into the floor. He dropped the Hogyoku inside and spun the combination lock for good measure. Kinji's chest was tight and he was struggling to keep his breathing calm.

Aizen. Nothing could have been more destructive to his situation than the reappearance of Sousuke Aizen. Kinji sat down and leaned over his knees. He rubbed his eyes which were throbbing along with his head. Things were so far away from being in control. He had committed an act of open warfare, Sui-Feng had committed treason and mass murder. Reflecting on these unpleasant facts he realized that the situation had never really been under control in the first place.

There was no event in the last few years that he had been in control of. When Lin stabbed him, when his house was invaded, when his brother was kidnapped, when Reiko had tried to provoke him into a reckless action. All he had done there was respond. Not once had he actually taken the fight to the Tenshin. That wasn't control. That was false security. It was sort of funny when he thought about it in a certain light. The brashness he thought would be too costly of an action was the only thing that had proven effective against the Tenshin's overall agenda. It had broken their hold on the Gotei 13 and removed them, at least for a short while, from the board.

Kinji laid back on his bed and encountered a lump under his blanket. He heard a soft grunt of discomfort from under the heavy comforter and sat bolt upright. He peeled back the heavy fabric and saw slightly matted black hair on his pillow. "You're heavy." Sui-Feng complained with a bit of a slur in her voice. She tilted her head to look at her future husband and Kinji could see dark circles under her eyes.

"Thank God!" Kinji said and hugged Sui-Feng tightly, effectively bundling her up in his bed's comforter. She pressed her cheek affectionately against his but otherwise remained limp in his arms. "How did you get here?" he asked without letting her go.

"Well, my father was a very amorous man…" she joked sleepily. He laughed and set her gently back onto the bed and laid down next to her. "Your mother opened the garganta to get me here. I wanted to stay and make sure that all the Central 46 traitors but your mother insisted. And I might have overdone it between using my bankai and shunko so close together." She yawned and settled deeper into the mattress, it was so cute that Kinji forgot for a moment that she had probably killed hundreds of people less than 12 hours ago. "I'm happy you're OK." she said before drifting back into an exhausted sleep. Kinji kissed the back of her neck gently, taking care not to wake her again and pulled the blanket back over her shoulders.

"Take all the sleep you need." He said quietly.

* * *

"Captain-Commander, Central 46 has issued a sealed set of orders." The messenger said. He handed over a folded letter bearing the official seal of Central 46 with the signatures of six members under it.

"Please read it aloud to everyone assembled." Yamamoto said, knowing exactly what it would say and feeling sick at the implications. But he was oath-bound to do as Central 46 dictated. He had never wanted so badly to disregard his legal responsibilities and burn to ash the people he knew to be traitors. But he wouldn't trample the law for the sake of upholding justice; that way lay anarchy, with everyone enforcing their own version of justice.

"By Order of His Majesty, the Soul King, through the will of his duly appointed government, the Gotei 13 will invade Hueco Mundo. The goal is to apprehend the terrorist and war criminal Sui-Feng as well as the Lord of Hueco Mundo who has broken faith with Soul Society. The invasion must begin as soon as forces are properly prepared. The discretionary details are to be handled by the Captain-Commander." The messenger's voice didn't falter and the words weighed heavily on everyone in the room, but for different reasons.

"Those are our orders! Captains Kenpachi, Kurotsuchi, Kuchiki, Unohana, and Hitsugaya will spearhead the assault. They may choose up to 5 officers under their command to go with them as part of the invasion force. An additional 200 unranked soul reapers will be randomly selected to provide support for the officers. All members of the Feng and Kotetsu houses will be placed under house arrest and their assets will be frozen. The invasion will begin in three days. Everyone else prepare for the event of a counter attack from Hueco Mundo. Dismissed!"

* * *

"Sir, it seems some of the members of Central 46 survived. They've given the order to invade Hueco Mundo and capture both of you." Akon told Kinji. Kinji had lain in bed with Sui-Feng, resting but not sleeping, for nearly four hours.

"I knew it couldn't be over just yet." Kinji said. He sat up from the bed and rolled his neck to work out the kinks."And what about the other problem?"

"I only have preliminary findings so far." Akon warned. "But there was something unique about your hollowfication process. And you told me that you haven't been able to communicate with your zanpakuto since then. That information combined with the data I gathered while you were on life support points to a single conclusion. You're on the verge of merging completely with your zanpakuto and becoming a single entity. I have no way of predicting what the outcome of such a merger would be. And there is something else." Akon said. Kinji could already feel a headache coming on. "The type of reiatsu you emitted when you put on that strange mask was similar in quality to that of the Hogyoku. It actually exists on a separate dimensional frequency which is why our senses didn't recognize it as reiatsu. With more data I could potentially give you better answers."

"Using the mask once and for only a few moments nearly killed me." Kinji reminded him. "Do you have anything that might mitigate the negative effects?"

"I'm afraid not. I can't even predict the kinds of strain something like that puts on the body." Akon said, disappointed that he had run up against a wall and had nothing further to offer.

"May I offer my assistance?" Aizen's voice preceded his appearance in the room. As soon as he was visible a pair of knives buried themselves to the hilt in the wall behind the image. Kinji didn't have to turn around to know who'd thrown them.

"You sleep with knives?" Kinji asked.

"You don't?" came the sleepy reply. She noted that Kinji wasn't worried about Aizen's presence and his reassuring hand on her shoulder reinforced that impression. As tired as her mind was she concluded that the Aizen in the room was either a hallucination or some kind of projection. Either way it wasn't important enough to interrupt her nap.

"Captain Sui-Feng, a pleasure to see you again." Sui-Feng glared at Aizen and pulled the blanket back over her head.

"What part of "I don't want anything" wasn't clear?" Kinji asked the projection.

"Well, you seem to be having trouble on a problem related to hollowfication. I do have some experience in the subject."

"Lord Kotetsu, may I ask a few questions?" Akon asked, seeing a rare opportunity to gain knowledge he'd thought lost with Aizen's death. Kinji looked at Akon then shot a murderous glare at Aizen.

"Fine." With permission granted Akon pulled out a notepad and started asking questions. Most of it was too technical for Kinji to understand but there was one question that caught his attention.

"What was the final goal of your hollowfication experiments? Your results with the arrancars was undeniable but you never transformed yourself. You must have had a plan for increasing your own power."

"Ah, now that is valuable information. But for a former student I suppose I can make allowances." Aizen said, looking pointedly at Kinji while he did so. "Soul reapers and their zanpakutos are two separate beings who grow stronger and transcend limitations the closer they become. But a complete merger of the two has yielded poor results. But hollowfication, assuming the process is successful, yields a dramatic increase in power without loss of sanity or bodily integrity. But this blurring of the lines retains many of the limitations of both hollow and soul reaper. The hollowfication process creates a second intelligence in the soul of the subject, effectively creating three personalities in the same being. I was trying to use this dynamic to transcend the limitations of hollow and soul reaper to become something more. A superstitious person might call such a being a god."

Even Sui-Feng sat up at that bold statement. Everyone knew that Aizen had wanted to take the "throne in the heavens" but no one had believed he was trying to create a god. "So, if you knew all this why didn't you do it, make yourself a god?" Kinji asked, too pulled in to realize he'd gone back on his word.

"Because it isn't enough. The only path to transcendence is on the coattails of another transcendent being. But the triune personality is a prerequisite."

"That conniving bitch." Kinji muttered, a lot of things suddenly sliding into place. Miko suddenly made sense. The artifacts had no autonomy of their own so they wanted vessels they could overwrite so they could become gods. Not for the first time since this fiasco had started Kinji felt like he was in way over his head.

"That better not be a pet name." Sui-Feng said, trying to stifle a yawn. "Can we go somewhere that he won't follow us?" she nodded toward Aizen.

"Your room should be far enough away." Kinji scooped up his bride to be and started toward the door. Sui-Feng wanted to protest but her exhaustion won out over her indignance. She let him carry her to her own bed and he took his time getting there, enjoying the closeness. "Now take a nap, you lazy woman." He teased. He expected her to threaten him but she just gave him a triumphant smile. "What?"

"You'll see." She promised. That worried him more than Aizen's sudden reappearance. If she had some nasty surprise waiting for him it was going to be painful. Akon stopped him on the way back to his room, before he could get too paranoid about Sui-Feng's surprise.

"Please Akon, I don't want to talk about the mask anymore."

"Sir, with all due respect, shut up and listen." Kinji rocked back. Akon had never spoken to him like that before. "If you put that mask on again your life will come to an end. If you leave it on I believe you will become what Aizen failed to, a true transcendent being. When that happens your existence will be harmful to everything around you. If you take it off again your body will lose cohesion and you will die. You might not even enter the cycle of rebirth with all the alterations you've been subjected to. I cannot stress this enough, do not put that mask on again."

"Thank you, that really was important information. But if you ever speak to me like that in front of anyone, especially the arrancars, I will have to beat you senseless. Understood?" Akon blinked, realizing that this was the same man who'd burned someone alive over the course of several hours just to make a point.

"Yes, Lord Kotetsu." The scientist made to walk past his boss. Kinji caught him by the shoulder and stopped him.

"Really, thank you Akon. There aren't that many people here who genuinely give a damn what happens to me. Just- just don't put me in a position where I have to do something I'll regret." Akon considered that for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. I'll start preparing for the invasion. You have other things to prepare for." Akon said and walked away.

"What the hell did he mean by that?" Kinji wondered aloud. In his short tenure as Lord of Hueco Mundo just about everyone under his command had suffered through some juvenile prank and some of them had suffered through more than one. The practical result of this was that none of them would interfere if someone wanted to put one over on him. But every single one of them would want to tease him about it before the proverbial egg hit his face. Kinji gnawed at the corner of his lip in frustrated contemplation. This seemed to be Sui-Feng's prank and he wasn't sure he wanted to try ducking it. Part of him really wanted to take the prank head on, to let it succeed because it would make Sui-Feng happy. But another part of him was terrified at what Sui-Feng might consider and amusing prank.

He didn't have long to stew in indecision because he was hit from behind by someone with a familiar reiatsu. Kinji mentally berated himself for his slip in attentiveness. His ability to sense reiatsu was among the best inexistence but if he wasn't actively looking he wouldn't notice if someone snuck up behind him. Slim arms ending in white gloves wrapped around his neck and shoulders and a short, lightweight body hit his back. "Kinji!" Kiyone said happily, squeezing him in a tight hug.

"Kiyone? How did you get here?" Kinji asked, slightly dazed by the sudden familial affection.

"You're the one who set up a garganta generator in our backyard. And when Captain Sui-Feng asked to use it Mom made her tell us everything." Kiyone dropped down from her much taller brother's back. "Isane was in Division 4 when Captain Sui-Feng showed up so she didn't make it before the Onmitsukido locked everything down. But everyone else made it!" The blonde Kotetsu said enthusiastically.

"Everyone?" the bottom fell out of Kinji's stomach.

"Yeah, now hurry up!" with his sister shoving him along he was marched to one of the adjoining buildings, one that was essentially a massive audience hall. Kinji had never needed to use it, whenever he wanted to address the entire population of Las Noches he simply brought everyone outside. To the best of his knowledge the place should have been empty and gathering dust. He was wrong on both counts. The massive hall was full of chairs and decorated in shades of white and gold. And if that wasn't shocking enough, his mother was at the front of the hall, ordering around arrancars and soul reapers as if they were young children doing household chores.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" Kinji asked. He sounded calm, the reality was that he was so freaked out his logic mind had dissociated his emotions so he could keep functioning. His mother gave an impatient huff.

"Men, they always need the simplest things explained." Haru Kotetsu raised an eyebrow at Kiyone. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed, young lady?" Kiyone scampered off. "To think that you and Isane would both pair up before Kiyone. I didn't see that coming." She looked Kinji up and down then shook her head. "You need to shower before you get changed. Maybe a haircut too."

"Haircut, changed? What's going on?" Haru smiled at him and Kinji felt like someone had jammed a shard of ice into his stomach.

"It's your wedding day."

**A/N: As always I greatly appreciate reviews.**


	28. Beginning of the End III

Chapter 28

The last three days had gone by way too fast. Kinji had been thrown for a loop by the sudden wedding his mother had put together but once he was up at that altar it really didn't seem to matter how he'd gotten there. The ritual itself was a blur in his memory but he knew he'd never forget how Sui-Feng looked on that day. Or that night. Now Kinji found himself a happily married man with his beautiful bride lying in bed against him. Two days wasn't long for a honeymoon but Kinji and Sui-Feng had made the most of it. Tomorrow morning would bring war and death and all Kinji wanted at that moment was to spend more nights just like he was now, with the woman he loved.

She stirred a little in his arms and he had to resist the urge to hold onto her tighter. The possessiveness he felt toward her shocked him and made him cautious of encroaching on her freedom. It wasn't so much of an issue now but he knew if he tried to cage her safely in his home she would hate it. He forced himself to let her go so he could climb out of bed and get a glass of water. "Don't leave." Sui-Feng's voice made him freeze where he was. Her dark eyes were open and reflecting the light of Hueco Mundo's crescent moon.

"I thought you were asleep." Kinji said softly.

"I can't sleep know what's going to happen tomorrow." Her eyes were bright with tears but she didn't let them fall. "We might not make it through."

"I promised you I'd never leave." Kinji said, echoing one of the wedding vows. He kissed the side of her neck, hating to see her so distressed so soon after being married.

"There are no guarantees in battle, I know that better than most. I don't want to lose you." It wasn't just what she was saying but the fact that Sui-Feng wasn't prone to such overt emotional moments that most disturbed Kinji.

"If I have any choice at all I promise we'll be together when all this is over. Even if I have to walk away from all of this." Sui-Feng relaxed marginally, gleaning some small comfort from his words. "But if you're so worried about not having enough time together…" Kinji slid his hand down her side and over her hip. "Maybe we should make the most of it." He whispered before gently nipping her ear. She pushed back against him and he sighed in appreciation.

"You're such a boy." She said, half in pleasure and half in exasperation.

"And you're a beautiful woman." Kinji replied with an honesty and obvious pleasure that Sui-Feng felt her face flush red.

"Flattery won't get you far with me." She said, trying to sound stern and menacing. But the commanding voice she'd used so often in the past century just couldn't hold up under Kinji's ministrations.

"Then I'll have to try other methods of persuasion." Kinji's voice was full of heat and Sui-Feng shuddered in anticipation. The rest of the night passed far too quickly for both of them.

#

The invasion force had been assembled in front of the garganta portal Captain Kurotsuchi had opened in front of the Senkaimon. Five Captains, at least half a dozen officers, and more than 200 soldiers waited in front of that opening, anticipating the order to attack. Hueco Mundo was visible through the hole in reality. Oceans of white sand and a crescent moon shedding light on a dome surrounded by towers. They had been warned that they would be arriving half a day's march from Las Noches.

"Where is that doddering old fool? Does he intend to keep me waiting all day?" Kurotsuchi groused. He was eager to invade Hueco Mundo to collect some living arrancars as specimens. The other four Captains just ignored the mad scientist. They didn't have to wait long for the Captain Commander to arrive and give their marching orders.

"Go forth! This is a battle that can no longer be delayed. The war criminals Sui-Feng and Kinji Kotetsu must be brought back to face justice. Make all efforts to bring them back alive so they can be given proper punishment." Coming from a man who called burning people to near death a scolding, what he deemed punishment was likely to be very unpleasant. With that he slammed down his cane, cracking the tile under his feet, and the invading army jumped into the portal and into Hueco Mundo.

#

"Sir, we have multiple alerts approaching from the west, five signatures are confirmed Captain level combatants." A tech advisor said loudly.

"I see that. Send the message to Ulquiorra in the Menos Forest, he'll know what to do from there. Tell Runuganga to create a sandstorm but stay out of sight, they probably have someone who can use ice or water kido. And start the alarm. Everyone should be ready for battle in the next twenty minutes or so." Kinji said. Sui-Feng was leaning against the side of his throne. She listened and watched, waiting for Kinji to give the attack order. She did plan to take part in this fight but she would do it on her own terms. She would figure out which of the invading Captains was most dangerous and she would neutralize them before they had any idea she was there.

"Do we know which Captains are invading?" she asked. The use of "we" made Kinji smile for a moment but he forced the expression off his face.

"No. All we know for sure is that Yamamoto isn't one of them. I've got a couple of scouts who will spot them when they get to the outer walls, until then we just have to wait and see." Kinji watched for the telltale green color of either the Sword or the Mirror but he didn't see it. There was no way the Tenshin would let an opportunity like this go to waste. The multitude of blue and white dots read plain soul reaper.

"And what about the Tenshin?"

"No sight of them yet. Who knows, maybe you killed them."

"If you really believed that I'd have to hug you and call you cute." Sui-Feng said with the smallest of smiles. Kinji blinked and looked over his shoulder.

"Would you really do that while I'm commanding an army of evolved hollows and renegade soul reapers?" her smile got a little bit bigger. Kinji swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and went back to watching the screen. "I'm sure they'll turn up when we can least afford it." He watched the dots approach Las Noches at a steady pace and wondered if he shouldn't launch a first strike. He shook his head and reminded himself that he needed to keep casualties to an absolute minimum. That was why he wanted Ulquiorra to use the hollows and Gillians of the Menos Forest to split up the main force. You can't capture that many soldiers all at once. Hopefully Ulquiorra would stick to his orders, he'd never formally declared loyalty to Kinji after all. Then something happened. A group of pink and red dots moved in from behind and the blue and white dots split. Or most of them did. One white dot charged into the mass of red and they started disappearing. Kinji knew exactly what that dot represented, Captain Zaraki was part of the invasion force. Several other dots followed his lead and the red dots blinked out one after another. But the main force had been split and were being driven to opposite ends of Las Noches. Between the hollows and the sandstorm all they could do was respond to their current situation, Kinji marveled at the tremendous advantage having the home field conferred.

"Sir, Ulquiorra wants to know if he should send in the Adjuchas."

"No, from here we let them into the dome where the arrancars can subdue and capture without killing." Kinji noted the white dots that had broken past his army of red dots. "But tell him to keep an eye on Captain Zaraki and those with him. Send Halibel and the Tres Bestias to the southern breach. Grimmjow, Dordoni, Circuci and Aoki should take the northern breach. Alert everyone that Captain Unohana and the medics she brought along are not to be attacked."

#

Captains Kuchiki and Kurotsuchi were forced to the north while Hitsugaya and Unohana were forced south. The two men were the first to break the outer wall of Las Noches and they were forced to squint for a moment as sunlight met their eyes. The interior was basically how they remembered it, but this time there were a host of arrancars in white lined along the towers instead of a giant moron with a lower half like a centipede.

"Things have changed a little since we were last here." Byakuya observed, drawing his sword and stepping out in front of the crowd of unranked soul reapers.

"So many arrancars." Kurotsuchi said, nearly drooling over the words. "I don't suppose I could interest any of you in becoming my research subjects. I promise I won't vivisect you for at least a year and I'll keep the experimental drug therapy tests to only three times a day!" the clown-faced man shouted at their soon-to-be enemies.

"Ha! Like we'd go back to being your guinea pigs, freakshow!" Circui shouted back at him.

"Well, I suppose that's only to be expected." The Head of Research and Development said with mock disappointment.

"They seem to know who you are. Care to offer an explanation?" Byakuya asked

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're implying." Kurotsuchi replied. The sound of swords being unsheathed drew Byakuya's attention back to their assembled enemy. He estimated at least 50 arrancars with two or more at the level of an Espada.

"The Espada with blue hair is mine." Byakuya said, recognizing the former Espada number 6 from the battle reports. "I believe that one wants to have a few words with you." He looked toward the woman wearing a gothic style dress and carrying a weapon that looked like a large golden wheel.

"Just try not to damage his body too badly, such powerful specimens are exceedingly rare." Byakuya didn't care in the least what his "ally" said. Their mission was to invade Hueco Mundo and return victorious, he didn't care if he broke Kurotsuchi's toys doing it. His flash step carried him to Grimmjow and his sword made his introduction for him. Grimmjow caught the sword with his bare hand.

"You know, you remind me of Kurosaki." He said, recalling his first battle with the orange haired boy.

"Is that so?" Byakuya pulled his sword free, cutting Grimmjow's palm, and drawing a line of bright red from hip to shoulder. Grimmjow caught his wrist at the top of its cut and hauled the soul reaper off his feet by his shihakusho.

"Yeah, you've got that same damn look in your eyes!" Byakuya raised his left hand to use a kido spell but Grimmjow let go of his clothes and hammered a kick into his side. The Captain of Division 6 went crashing back down to the sand. As If that were some kind of signal the arrancars jumped down from their perches and into the middle of a crowd of soul reapers. Circuci and Dordoni stayed exactly where they were and stared down at Mayuri Kurotsuchi. The scientist turned to his lieutenant.

"Nemu, capture the woman." Nemu didn't reply. "Nemu, are you listening?" the woman collapsed into the sand with a dart sticking from her back. Mayuri looked back to see Akon holding a dart gun. "Now how did you find a poison that could affect my creation?"

"Immunity can only go so far. I just made the dose high enough to trump that immunity, Captain." The former 3rd Seat of Division 12 said scornfully.

"I'm very disappointed in you. Using such a crude method." Mayuri said, subtly moving a hand to the pocket with his detonator in it.

"Crude is sometimes the most effective." He watched as Mayuri fruitlessly pressed the almost cartoonish button. "Like cutting out the bomb that you planted in my stomach."

"And now you think you can take a little revenge for the experiments I did on you."

"Not exactly. I'm just here to run the suppression field. They're here for revenge." Akon nodded at the two Privaron Espadas.

"Suppression field? What nonsense-?" a white leg slammed into Kurotsuchi's head and sent him tumbling in a rather undignified manner back towards the opening he had blown in Las Noches' outer wall. Akon followed that up by chanting a spell and sending dozens of white panels flying through the air. They expanded to stone pillars and slammed down in front of the opening.

"Gate of the Dragon Tail." Akon said, finishing the complex and draining spell. With that nigh unbreakable barrier in place there was little chance of the mad scientist escaping. The mad scientist was even madder when he pulled his head out of the sand

"You arrogant little insects! If I can't have you as research subjects then I'll dissect your corpses! Bankai!" Red light and a low buzzing noise enveloped his zanpakuto and expanded upward like some obscene mass of glowing flesh. His bankai took shape, an infant's head and arms on the body of a centipede. It let out its unearthly cry and charged Akon, poison spewing from its mouth. Akon didn't flinch or try to run. Instead, he pulled out a detonator switch similar to the one Kurotsuchi had tried to use. Unlike the mad clown's switch, Akon's actually accomplished what it was supposed to do. The organic bankai exploded into tiny flakes of flesh and metal.

"I believe you met Szael Aporro Granz. He designed a room that could neutralize complex techniques of anyone he had a reishi schematic and reiatsu impression of. You won't be able to use your bankai here."

"This is the end for you _Payaso Loco_." Dordoni said before drawing his sword.

"I call dibs!" Ciruci sent her Golondrina spinning out and Mayuri was forced to block with his Ashisogi Jizo. The metal yo-yo struck the fragile looking bronze sword over and over. Kurotsuchi was off balance and unprepared for the offensive. If he had time to prepare for a fight it was unlikely anyone could beat him. This time he had the displeasure of being outplanned by someone who knew his habits and tactics. Akon had worked with Mayuri Kurotsuchi for a century and knew the man better than he knew himself. By taking Nemu out of the equation he'd cut down on the number of possible surprises Kurotsuchi could bring out. With the suppression field active his bankai was unavailable and that left his more vulnerable than he'd ever been. But he still had a few tricks up his sleeve, literally.

The Captain of Division 12 pulled a vial from his sleeve, a poison that would cause the victim to suffer nervous system disruption. It would be agonizing but ultimately non-fatal. A leg connected with his elbow and shattered the joint. Dordoni caught the vial before it hit the sand. "Poison _Payaso_? A coward's weapon."

"Damn you Akon!" Mayuri said in frustration. He reversed his grip on his zanpakuto and ran it through his neck. His body exploded into green gel the color and consistency of mucus. The living snot made its retreat by sinking deep into the sand.

#

"Buncha' small fries." Kenpachi groused.

"Yeah, it's like they were just trying to distract us." Ikkaku said.

"Well I tried to tell you. The briefing report said that the arrancars almost always stay inside that dome of theirs." Yumichika replied with an annoying degree of smugness.

"Stop rubbing it in." The bald man shouted back.

"It seems your information is incorrect." A cold voice said. Ulquiorra Schiffer stepped out from behind a shattered tree. "We frequently go out on patrol. It's hard to believe the kind of trash that seem to drift into Hueco Mundo unwelcomed."

"Who are you calling trash you… uh. Hey Yumichika, what do you call someone like this?" Ikkaku asked, not sure what he should think about a skinny and pale arrancar who looked like he was constantly crying.

"Ugly."

"Call him whatever you want. All I want to know is how strong he is." Kenpachi said and he moved toward the arrancar.

"I am Espada number 4, Ulquiorra Schiffer. And you, Kenpachi Zaraki, are a threat to Las Noches. I have no choice but to eliminate you."

"Before you get to fight the Captain you'll have to go through us." Ikkaku said, pointing the tip of Hozukimaru at him. Ikkaku Madarame was not a coward, nor did he have enough common sense to be afraid of fighters who could crush him like an ant. But when Ulquiorra looked at him he felt a cold sweat break out on his head. He'd seen the eyes of his enemy when they hated him, wanted to kill him, found him annoying, and even when they were just blood crazy. This was like nothing he'd ever seen before. When those green eyes fixed on him he understood exactly how Ulquiorra saw him. He wasn't a person, he was a thing that just happened to be momentarily inconvenient. There was no doubt in the arrancar's mind that Ikkaku was going to be destroyed and the battle-hungry soul reaper knew it. Ikkaku loved to fight and put his life at risk, especially when the odds were long. There were no odds in this fight. It was suicide.

"Not this time." Kenpachi stepped forward. "I remember another guy I fought here the first time. He said he was Espada number 5. I wonder just how much stronger number 4 is." Ikkaku, perhaps for the first time in his life, was relieved he wouldn't have to fight.

"Then we'll take the other two." A female voice said. Loly Avirrne and Menoly Mallia emerged from the forest with swords drawn. Ulquiorra spared them a brief glance.

"Do as you please." He said after a moment's consideration. "But I can't guarantee your lives if you stay nearby."

"Yes, Ulquiorra-sama. C'mon baldy." Loly taunted before turning and running back toward the dome of Las Noches. Menoly followed close behind and kept an eye on the two men who turned to follow them.

"Yachiru. You need to sit this one out." Kenpachi said over his shoulder. The pink haired engine of destruction popped out from under the haori and started smacking Kenpachi on the head.

"Kennie, you meanie. You did the same thing last time!"

"This guy seems stronger than the last one. I can't fight if you might get caught up in it." At that Yachiru let out a giggling laugh and jumped off his shoulder.

"I was just kidding, Kennie. Have fun." She took off running toward Las Noches, a trail of flying sand leaving a six foot high trail in her wake. When she was safely away Kenpachi took a couple of practice swings with his chipped and scarred blade.

"Now, where were we?"

#

"Who woulda' thought we'd see that cow again?" Apache said with a smile. Halibel and her three Fracciones were watching the second half of the invasion force rub sand from their eyes.

"Fate does seem to work in strange ways." Halibel agreed. "Take care not to attack any of the medics and do your best to avoid killing the weak ones."

"Yes, Master Halibel!" the three of them said in unison, feeling like all was right with the world again. There were no arrancars in their support force. Instead there were ten soul reapers lead by Aoki and waiting to reveal a secret weapon Kinji had been holding in reserve. He looked back to the strike team he had thrown together in the last few days from the list of candidates Kinji had prepared weeks before. They weren't ideal but he knew Kyoko and a few others would perform exactly as they needed to.

"Ladies and gentlemen, time to put on your game faces." Aoki said. He placed a hand over his face and swiped down. A white mask with red markings covered his face and his reiatsu shot into the higher end of lieutenant. The rest of the group followed suit but none of them were as powerful. Aoki had adapted to his hollow form with remarkable speed and could remain hollowfied for hours on end. But the three minute limit the rest of them had to abide by would be enough to subdue a few dozen unranked soul reapers.

Hitsugaya felt the sudden surge in hollow reiatsu and shouted a warning. "They're above us!" He drew his sword "Reign over the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!" A dragon made of ice and freezing water rushed toward the small group. Halibel cut it cleanly in half with her strange sword, following the dragon's body until her blade connected with Hitsugaya's more traditional katana.

"We meet again, Captain of Division 10."

"This time I'll take you down myself." He promised her. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if he could or not. She pushed hard and the two of them were propelled away from the rest of the fighting. Aoki was striking soldiers with the back of his sword to prevent a lethal blow, working his way toward Captain Unohana and the small team of medics. He recognized several members of Division 3 and he felt bad about hurting them but they were on the wrong side of this fight. There was more at stake than a few broken bones and bruised friendships. His team was getting similar results and they were binding the downed soul reapers as they went. Aoki was nearly there when a cloud of sand brushed his arm. A moment later he felt a searing pain and he felt the warmth of his own blood flowing over his skin.

Rangiku Matsumoto had picked her moment to attack, when someone distinguished themselves from the small crowd of masked soul reapers. Aoki had done that quickly. She managed to land a blow with Haineko but the masked man moved away from the ash cloud faster than she could anticipate. She looked for him again in the crowd but her view of the battlefield was blocked by a familiar arrancar with blue hair. "Sorry, cow. I've got dibs on that one." Rangiku reacted instantly, pulling the ash of her blade back before Apache's bracelet could connect with her head. The spinning weapon flew back to its owner's wrist but the damage was done. The Tres Bestias had surrounded the Lieutenant of Division 10, deliberately echoing the first time they'd fought.

#

"This is going far too well." Kinji said, eyes flickering over the various monitors.

"Maybe Yamamoto threw a soft punch? He is still on our side, technically." Sui-Feng said.

"Maybe." Kinji admitted. But something was bothering him. He had planned and prepared the battlefield as best he could, he had brought together enough soldiers and high level fighters to rival the Soul Society. It made sense that a force comprising less than half the Gotei 13's full strength would be overmatched. So why did he feel so uneasy? IT wasn't like the Tenshin were some unpredictable variable, he knew they would attack Hueco Mundo once it looked like the soul reapers had whittled away at his forces. There was no other strategy that made sense. After all, the only thing that sending the Gotei 13's invasion force to Hueco Mundo would accomplish would be to weaken Las Noches.

The blood in his veins turned to ice at an alternative goal that hadn't occurred to him before. Sending this invasion force would weaken Las Noches but the way things were going it would weaken the Seireitei a whole lot more. "No, there's not reason for him to… Shit!"

"What is it?" Sui-Feng asked.

"Is there any reason the Tenshin would try to topple Soul Society before Hueco Mundo?" Kinji's eyes were wide with a burgeoning panic that hadn't quite overwhelmed him.

"No. All that would do is…" Sui-Feng trailed off. Her eyes narrowed in anger and she bared her teeth.

"Is what?"

"It would bring the Zero Division out from the Soul King's Palace. If they captured one of the Royal Guards they might be able to figure out how to invade the Palace." The weight of his mistake hit Kinji like a brick to the back of the head. Had Yamamoto seen this ploy coming? Was that why the invasion force was so small? A hand went to his earpiece.

"Aoki, how many medics are there in Unohana's group?" There was a moment of riotous noise before Aoki's voice came through.

"Three. And Captain Unohana isn't here. The woman wearing the white haori isn't Captain Unohana." That bit of information sealed it. Yamamoto had kept as much firepower and medical muscle as he could back in the Seireitei for this contingency. Kinji felt his guts twist when he realized another way the situation could turn. This wasn't just a cold impersonal strategy worked out by some unknown 3rd party. Jiro had planned and orchestrated this whole thing. Which meant that Jiro would, personally, be coming for his head before this mess ended. But that didn't change what he needed to do next.

"Sui-Feng, I know this isn't fair to ask you but-" she leaned over and kissed him. She kissed him hard for a long moment and pulled back.

"I know. You need me to make sure they don't get what they want in Soul Society. Just promise me that you'll be here when I get back." Kinji felt something unpleasant stir in his chest.

"I promise." He said and put a hand to her face. "I love you." The unpleasant feeling redoubled and a thought flitted in front of his mind. _Did I just lie to her?_

Sui-Feng leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "I love you too." Then she vanished. Her flash step was, as usual, quick and flawless. Kinji was left with nothing more than an afterimage of one of her rare smiles.

"Please leave the room." Kinji said to the guards and tech operators.

"But, Lord Kotetsu, we can't leave you unguarded." One of them said, obviously taking pride in being assigned to guard the leader of Las Noches. Kinji gave him a level look.

"Do you honestly believe that you being here will make a difference between victory and defeat? Leave, or I'll kill you right here." Everyone tensed. Kinji may have had the best sense of humor ever to grace Hueco Mundo, which wasn't saying much, but he never joked about punishment. Slowly but surely the guards and the techs filed out of the room. When Kinji was alone he sealed the main entrance with kido to prevent anyone from simply walking in. Alone in the hall he turned out the lights and used his zanpakuto's power to light the space with foxfire. He waited for a while, watching the battles play out on the monitors, until he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "Maybe, in the end, I'm just too far out of my depth. What do you think?" Kinji said, addressing what appeared to be an empty room.

"That's being far too generous to yourself, Nii-sama." The cold voice came from a corner of the room that remained dark despite the foxfire floating in the air. Jiro Kotetsu, forgoing the head-wrapping this time. He looked taller than Kinji remembered. He'd been only a few inches taller than Kiyone the last time they'd seen each other but now he was only an inch or two shorter than Kinji. It wasn't just his height either, Jiro appeared to have aged and become more muscular as well. In his hand was a sword of black metal with a short, thick blade and no guard. That had been expected. The mirror strapped to his left arm was a much greater surprise. "You've been swimming in waters you had no place stepping so much as a toe into. But, despite having Miko steer your course you still waded in up to your neck." The cold disdain was an expression he'd never seen on Jiro's face before.

"You know Miko is just a front, right? Do you have any idea what that thing on your arm really is?"

"Of course I do. But I'm not sure that you do. Besides, aren't you being a bit hypocritical trying to lecture me when the Gem is in your pocket?"

"You do have a point there." Kinji pulled the Hogyoku out of his pocket and held it up. "But I doubt you came here just for this."

"I got tired of sending killers after you and watching them fail. This time I'm going to make sure your head ends up on a spike." The cold hate in Jiro's eyes made Kinji flinch.

"Why?"

"Why not? There's no justice in this world. If there was I would have grown up with a father and ruled by people who know how to govern. But that didn't happen, did it? We live under a god who cares nothing for the lives of those he rules. I can do better. I will do better." It was such a simple motive. It wasn't even a bad motive, though for most people it would seem foolish to the point of impossibility. Kinji could certainly empathize with it but he could see how wrong it was at the same time. In the name of making the world a better place Jiro had taken lives and destroyed the well-being of countless others. It was like a book from the human world said, "By their fruits you shall know them". And the fruits of Jiro's actions were rotten to the extreme.

"It's the world we have, brother."

"You, of all people, are going to stand there and tell me that? You, a soul reaper, rule Las Noches. You killed Father and fought tooth and nail against the true rulers of Soul Society. And you are telling me to just go with the flow? Those sound like the words of a loser. A true leader should think of how the world should be and make it real with his own hands."

"And consequences be damned? You want to build a world of justice by killing, corrupting and betraying everything and everyone in your way? That's the logic of a pouty child who never grew up." Kinji softened his tone. "You're my brother and I love you. Please stop this. If this keeps going everyone we love is going to die." There was a flicker of something like pain in Jiro's eyes but then they hardened again into ice.

"A real god has no family." Jiro slashed with the sword and a cord of dark energy lashed out toward Kinji. It passed through the illusion with no effect, about three feet away from where Kinji was actually standing.

"I'm not going to lose you too, Jiro. Even if I have to beat some sense into you I'm going to get you back!" Blue fire collided with the shell of darkness surrounding the youngest Kotetsu and exploded.

#

Anrak and Neliel were sitting down in the general mess hall when someone not dressed in a shihakusho walked into the building. After a few moments everyone took notice, being in the Seireitei and not dressing like a soul reaper meant you were wither a noble with a lot of clout or you were a ryoka. If you were the former it was unlikely you'd stop anywhere as mundane as the garrison mess hall. If you were the latter, walking into a building full of enemies would typically be the shortest route to death.

The intruder was darkskinned and wearing a set of shades similar to the model Renji had when he was sent to retrieve Rukia from the Living World. Despite the lack of shihakusho he had a zanpakuto at his hip. He looked around at all the seated soul reapers, and one arrancar, and spat on the floor. "Like a bunch of rats. Let's see how fast you run from the ship once it starts sinking." The insult caused several soul reapers to rise so quickly they knocked over some of the furniture. They would have rushed him if the stranger hadn't acted first. "Hado 54: Haien." The ball of violet flame hit the floor and quickly spread towards the walls. In a few startling seconds the entire building was on fire.

"Don't panic!" Neliel shouted. She kicked one of the walls, splintering the wood and opening a hole large enough for three large men to walk through shoulder to shoulder. "Everyone out through here!" Anrak had placed himself between the arsonist and Neliel and was trying to wrest control of the fire away from him. The fire on his side of the room turned black and dwindled but the fire closer to the dark-skinned man remained as they were.

"You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you, asshole?" Anrak drew Kage Shitsukoi and released it without speaking its name. Most of the remaining fire darkened and disappeared. Too little too late to save the building's interior which was scorched beyond repair but everyone managed to get out with little more than scorched socks.

"Dirty blooded vermin and monsters shouldn't speak." The Shihouin who had assaulted Kotetsu Manor said before drawing his own sword.

"Damn, I knew it. You're one of those rebels who attacked the Kotetsu. Took you longer than I thought to pull this stunt." In response to Anrak's taunts the Shihouin relaxed his hold over his own power. Bright golden light exploded upward and blew the roof off the hall.

#

Lin Feng was a battered shell of her former self. She was locked in a cell underneath the Maggot's Nest prison awaiting the next round of torture. She shuddered in horrified anticipation of what fresh torment was going to be visited on her. A red-haired man wearing a sword on his hip opened the door to her cell, a man she knew. "Akamatsu?"

"Lin. You screwed up before so the boss decided you needed a little punishment. I seriously doubt that he expected this." The scientist said. "But word came down to take you off the bench." He held up a bloodstained key and used it to unlock the shackles keeping Lin tied down. She slumped bonelessly to the floor.

"Can't move. Too many wounds." She muttered, nearly slipping out of consciousness from the pain.

"Yeah, there's no saying no to this." Akamatsu pulled a wakizashi from his belt and tossed it in front of Lin. She looked at it with longing and despair mingled together. That was her zanpakuto, she'd left it behind when Jiro had sent her to kill Kinji using the Mirror. Too bad the Mirror had stolen all of her power when it left her. Akamatsu caught the look and pulled a sliver of glass from his pocket. "What a god takes away it can give back. Time to get back to work." The glass shattered into dust and was drawn to Lin like iron shavings being pulled to a magnet. Green light erupted from her battered body and split the stone above her.

#

Yamamoto rose from his desk and looked out over the Seireitei. Half a dozen spears of light were rising into the sky from various points, each one representing a Captain-level fighter. The rebellion had begun. "Send out an alert. Ryoka are in the Seireitei, all Captains are to locate and destroy them."

**A/N: If you're disappointed that I didn't write the wedding scene, I'm saving it for later. In the meantime you'll have to subsist on some bloodthirsty violence. As always I appreciate advice and commentary in the form of reviews.**


	29. The Center Cannot Hold

Chapter 29

For the first minute of their fight Jiro had stood immobile and let Kinji attack him at will. Neither kido nor foxfire could so much as brush the barrier of black energy without vanishing. "This is pitiful." Jiro taunted after another wave of blue fire crashed against his barrier and broke. His sword swept out and a black wave crashed toward Kinji. The attack was so wide that it scraped the walls on either side of the hall, leaving nowhere for Kinji to run. Fire wrapped his sword, burning as hot and bright as an arc welder, and Kinji cut right through the middle of the wave. His gamble succeeded but only just. The wave parted enough to move past him without wiping him from existence. The sword he'd used to cut the darkness wasn't nearly so lucky. The fine edge had been rendered dull and chipped, small impressions showed on the blade where bits of metal had vanished. Kinji's appreciation for the relic Jiro was using ratcheted up another few notches.

He looked back at his brother but was met with a displeased scowl. "What do you have to be upset about?"

"What you did isn't possible. Just touching the power of the Sword should have annihilated your zanpakuto."

"Brother, impossible is a word I don't have much faith in anymore. Bankai." The ruined sword dissolved into ash and wrapped around Kinji, hiding him from view. "Myobu Kitsunebi." The ash vanished, revealing Kinji wearing the long-sleeved robe and sporting 8 white-furred tails. The silver kitsune mask hung from a red cord around his neck and Kinji could feel the item pulsing with heat and life. He felt a push against his mind, the intent of the intrusion was clear. Put on the mask. It wanted to complete the transformation and destroy the relics. The pressure was so intense that it affected Kinji's senses. He could feel the three relics as if they were pressing against his chest. But Kinji pushed back. He would not put on the mask unless there was no other option. Akon's warning against the consequences rang clear in his mind, either he would die or he would have to exile himself to keep from hurting people he cared about. "I'm going to rip those cursed objects off of you and destroy them."

"You really don't understand what they are, do you? They are the Ba'al, gods from another world that broke through to ours! They can't be destroyed." Another wave of darkness attempted to engulf Kinji. The silver-haired soul reaper braced his feet and his tails drew together in front of him. Instead of forming a wall they left a round space open with their tips pointing inward. Blue fire gathered in the space, spiraling into a tightly compressed ball that burned like a tiny star. "Myobu Kitsunebi, Hoshi no tama!" The ball breached and a ray of fire similar to a cero lanced into the blackness. It pierced Jiro's attack and slammed against the shield surrounding him. The thin layer of evil energy wasn't able to eliminate the power fast enough to keep all of it from getting through and Jiro's robed caught fire. He ripped the expensive fabric away from his body and tossed it into the inside of his shield. It vanished.

"I know them better than you. There is nothing inside those things but malice and a love of destruction. They hate everything that exists in this world, they just want you to be their vessel and carry out their will." Kinji felt the Hogyoku pulse angrily against his side. Impotent though it was without a willing instrument, that seething anger gave him pause. If it could distract him at a crucial moment it might be able to get him killed.

"Liar!" Jiro slashed and a thin line of darkness shot with amazing speed toward Kinji. His reaction, which was all he had time for, was to wrap his tails around himself. The energy struck his bankai and Kinji felt an incredibly unpleasant sensation. He felt a fraction of his strength and vitality leach away through the point of contact. It wasn't exhaustion or a chill but a kind of painful ache that left him breathing hard. "They're here to make the world how it should be. Anything would be better than that impotent lynchpin on the throne." Another lash of darkness hit Kinji and the ache pulsed again. Kinji struck back with a single tail, the iron-furred appendage snapped toward Jiro like a cracking whip. The organic bankai hit the dark shield and slowed but didn't stop. Jiro didn't have enough time to react when his almost perfect shield displayed why it was almost perfect. The thousands of needle-like spikes of fur caught him in the side and shaved away the skin and muscle along his lower ribs on his left side. It was a solid hit that inflicted serious harm but it held a cost for Kinji too. The ache that Jiro's attacks had inspired lasted for a moment, prolonged contact with the shield felt like someone had stuck a straw into his arm and started sucking blood out.

He pulled back the tail, feeing both weakened and somehow violated. "Look at what they've done! Everything they touch rots and dies." Kinji shouted back. His brother didn't even flinch. "Fine. If you won't believe words then I'll show you myself." The oppressive heat his bankai radiated vanished as his powers moved into the mental realm. "You know, until I took part of my zanpakuto into myself I didn't really understand how the illusion power worked. I mean, it doesn't make much sense. It isn't some kind of hypnosis or bending light to create images. But now I understand." Small tongues of blue fire spread out from Kinji like a thousand candle flames. "The light from my flames interrupts the neural pathways between the optic nerve and the memory centers of the brain. My ability isn't the power to alter the visual sense but to alter memories. Kitsunebi used this power to give my stolen memories back to me after Miko left me a hollow shell. Now I'm going to show you the most horrific memory of my life, try not to pass out." Kinji braced himself for the psychic trauma this would inflict on him. The method his power used to alter memory meant that he couldn't discriminate. Anything in sight of the ghostly blue light was affected in the same way.

Jiro was barely listening. He was more concerned with the lines of dark power coursing under his skin and repairing the damage he'd taken in the last exchange. Whatever trivial power his brother had was inconsequential compared to the might of the Sword and Mirror he possessed. Unless Kinji suddenly decided to join with the Hogyoku nothing he could do would matter in the slightest. His dismissive attitude shattered like glass when the image of Miko without her blindfold appeared before him. Her eyes were black pits so deep and cold that his hear stopped for a moment. The utterly alien nature of the being before him became apparent, as did the malice that it exuded. _That won't do._ Miko quickly erased all memory of the traumatic sight from Jiro's mind. She was finally so close to finding a vessel and she wouldn't let her ex-vessel interfere.

Kinji's hands shook with fear and revulsion. The memory of Miko as she left his mind was more than just a memory, it was truth as permanent and enduring as the rules of mathematics. He saw the impact of it on Jiro's face. The horror and instinctual disgust at something so vile was unmistakable. But then it was gone. Kinji couldn't understand it. Had he imagined his brother's reaction? Light reflected off the surface of the Mirror and drew his attention. "Miko, you evil bitch." Kinji growled when his stunned mind connected the dots.

The heat returned in full force. Rage, heavy and hot, tainted Kinji's energy and forced his fire to return to its more offensive nature. "Jiro, if I have to rip your arms off to make you let go of those relics I will."

"You're welcome to try, Nii-sama."

* * *

The battle-scarred sword stopped well before they connected with the arrancar's pale skin. Ulquiorra had drawn his sword as soon as the fight began. Half measures against the soul reaper that had killed Nnoitora would be foolish, that was the decision he had reached through cold calculation. He didn't need any complex strategies for dealing with this one. The barbarian simply wanted a challenging fight. Ulquiorra, despite having the appearance of a skinny, almost frail looking young man, had the physical power to subdue Yammy Rialgo with a single blow. He pushed the battered sword away and slashed at Kenpachi's leading leg. His sword cut deep, notching the bone under the hard muscle. He frowned in momentary confusion. That strike should have cleanly severed the limb.

"Ha, not bad." Kenpachi said, opting for another swing at Ulquiorra's head. Another parry and counterstrike. But this time the cut was shallow and Ulquiorra had to strain to stop the soul reaper from taking an arm off. The next attack cut open his jacket and put a shallow wound on his shoulder. Ulquiorra used sonido to get behind his opponent and stabbed through his abdomen. Kenpachi spun and struck with his own blade before the wound was an inch deep. The battle started moving faster and faster, Ulquiorra was making liberal use of his flash step just to stay a step ahead of Kenpachi. Sparks flew from their blades at every contact.

After the chipped blade clipped some hair from his head, Ulquiorra used sonido to appear more than 10 feet above his opponent's head with a cero fully charged. The explosion of green light caused a shockwave that scattered sand into the air. When the dust settled Kenpachi was standing unharmed with the exception of his left hand. The skin was burned and blackened but the giant didn't seem to care, judging by the smile on his face. "You're an imbecile." Ulquiorra said, unable to understand people who sacrificed a limb for no discernable reason when a sword could have done the same without the high cost.

"You're definitely stronger than the guy with six arms. I think I might even be able to fight with everything I've got." His hand drifted up to his eye-patch like he intended to remove it. Ulquiorra's off hand snapped off a bala into Kenpachi's single visible eye. He followed up with a kick to the side of the head that had its own shock wave. It was the logical thing to do, no opponent should be able to withstand a blow to the head they had no idea was coming. Kenpachi was knocked dozens of feet away and didn't stir from where he fell.

* * *

A short distance away Ikkaku was having a hard time getting into the spirit of the fight. He didn't usually fight women and he didn't fight anyone so much weaker than him. Loly Avirrne was getting in his face and trying to stab him with a tiny little dagger. He didn't like daggers either. They were the weapons of cowards and weaklings. He moved his head from side to side to keep the slow stabs from hitting him. "Hey, Yumichika. Would you mind tagging me out?" When he looked over at the other fighting pair he saw a vicious, cut-throat fight. Menoly was attacking with both sword and feet, Yumichika was on the defensive in a bad way, taking hits on his arms to protect his head and neck. And all of a sudden the dagger was cutting into the side of his neck. He used Hozukimaru's sheathe to knock the blow away but the sharp blade had already clipped the artery.

"You underestimated me." Loly said smugly. "Did you really think a Numeros would be that weak? I'm arrancar 33, Loly Avirrne!"

"Well, this might be an interesting fight after all." He used the ointment hidden in his zanpakuto's hilt to staunch the flow of blood from his neck. He slammed the sheath and hilt together, "Extend Hozukimaru!" the sword and sheathe extended into the long spear he was famous for wielding. "But if all you have is that knife I don't think you'll get close enough to cut me."

"Then think again, baldy." She pointed the dagger at him in a two handed grip. "Poison, Escolopendra!"

* * *

Menoly risked a glance at her best friend when she saw the flare of purple light. Yumichika took advantage of the opening. His sword struck her collar bone but didn't breach her skin. The repeated blows had numbed his arms to the point of weakening his sword strokes. She kicked him in the gut in retaliation and propelled him several steps backward. If Loly was going to fight all out then she would too. She reversed her grip on the blade so it pointed toward the sand. "Guard, Pangolin!" Red light engulfed her and left her much changed. She was covered almost completely in bony armor plates and her hands ended in curved claws. Her face and hair remained mostly unchanged but in addition to the scales a long armored tail trailed behind her ending in a gleaming spike.

"I think you were more beautiful the other way." Yumichika said. "Bloom, Fujikujaku." His katana curved and spit into several razor sharp blades. Menoly's face went beet red at Yumichika's comment.

"B-beautiful?" The arrancar, typically content being in someone else's shadow, curled into a ball out of embarrassment. It was an instinctual reaction and a very effective defense. Yumichika took a battle stance and waited for the inevitable attack. After an awkward minute had passed he started inching closer to the scaly ball. When he was close enough he tapped it with his zanpakuto.

"Are you planning to actually fight me? Or just stay there like that." Yumichika tapped the ball again, harder this time. "It's one thing for you to attack me, but now you're just going to ignore me? I'm afraid I can't forgive you for that." He struck the scales in earnest but his blades just skipped off the angled scales.

"Why should I fight? It's not like I want to kill you." Menoly asked from inside her suit of armor.

"Anyone from the Zaraki squad doesn't need a reason to fight. But if you need a reason, defending your home seems like it an elegant reason to me." He kept up his barrage of cuts but none of them struck home. He tried to slide the blades in under the tough scales but they were layered on top of each other too lightly.

Yumichika tried and failed to injure Menoly for several minutes. He kicked the armored ball in a gesture of pure frustration. All that did was give him a bruised toe. "You can stop trying now." She said, her voice muted. A vein popped on Yumichika's forehead and he went back to slamming his zanpakuto against her armored hide. "Are you done yet?" she asked. The panting soul reaper choked down his anger.

"Yes. I think I've had enough." He turned to look at Ikkaku's fight which was far less one-sided than he'd expected. The black-haired girl had two appendages attached to her arms that she was using as flails. Ikkaku was mostly on the defensive but he managed to close and make small strikes on occasion before one or both of the long weapons tried to flense him. The hits he got in didn't seem to cause much damage because of Loly's hierro.

Yumichika looked on and saw Ikkaku's smile. No, if the blond one didn't want to fight he'd just wait for Ikkaku to finish.

* * *

"Bankai. Daiguren Hyorinmaru!" The ice wrapped around Hitsugaya and flared out into a pair of wings. Halibel attacked a moment before the ice had fully formed and sheared off a wing. The smaller fighter was knocked spinning back toward the ground as he reformed his wing. Halibel pursued relentlessly, chopping at him at every opportunity.

Rangiku wasn't doing much better. The Tres Bestias had coordinates their attacks and chipped away the lieutenants strength. The ash from her sword drifted slowly around her but she wasn't sure she could form a strong enough shield to continue fending off their attacks. Their last attempt was responsible for the cut on her arm and the ache in her ribs. And none of them had released their zanpakutos.

"Look, this isn't going any better than last time. Just give up!" Apache said, feeling a little guilt beating up on someone like this.

"To someone who probably gets mistaken for a guy? No thanks." Rangiku said. The guilt vanished, replaced by anger and violent fanatasies.

"Come over here and say that to me, cow! I'll make sure you get mistaken for a pile of ground beef!"

"Calm down. She's just baiting you again." Mila-Rose said.

"I'd listen to her if I were you. The she-man can probably take you in a fight."

"Why you! I'll rip that smile out of your head you blonde hussy!"

"Like hell she could beat me! I'll kick her ass first if you need me to prove it." Apache said, too angry to think clearly.

"What was that?" Mila-Rose shot back.

"This is why both of you are going to die old maids. You have no charm." Sun-Sun said disdainfully.

"I wouldn't throw stones if I were you. If it weren't for your face I'm not sure I could tell the front from the back." Rangiku's comment about Sun-Sun's lack of "assets" made the arrancar narrow her eyes dangerously.

"Ha! Serves you right Sun-Sun!" Apache said.

"It's not like you have enough up top to criticize, Apache." Mila-Rose put it. The fracas that ensued bought Rangiku some breathing space. Enough to see her Captain being pushed into a corner.

"Captain!" she tried to rush over and give him enough time to mount a real defense. Apache caught her arm and twisted hard. Haineko's hilt dropped as her hand went nerveless and Sun-Sun caught it as it fell. "Hado 3-" Rangiku tried to use a kido spell to free herself but Mila-Rose hit her in the stomach and drove the breath out of her lungs. Then she found both her hands being pulled behind her back and tied with some kind of cord. She tried to pull free but an arm wrapped around her neck and kept her immobilized.

"Relax. We're not gonna to kill you." Apache said. "Lord Kotetsu said take you alive so you stay alive."

"Take me alive?" Rangiku choked out.

"Not you in particular." Sun-Sun explained. "He wanted us to do everything possible to avoid killing any soul reapers. There might still be a few accidental deaths but I'm afraid that can't be avoided."

"Why?" Rangiku asked.

"Like I would know." Mila-Rose snorted.

* * *

Whoever these new attackers were had no intention of taking the Seireitei intact. Fires had started all over the massive city and were spreading with alarming quickness. Powerful energy signatures had appeared, put on a light show, and vanished in the span of a minute. The Ryoka, while undetectable, were obviously still present and doing damage. From the feel of it all of them were Captain level, one or two maybe even a notch above a normal Captain. Yamamoto had begun issuing orders as soon as they appeared but before his men could get organized the power signatures had vanished.

"Captain Commander! The prisoners from the Maggot's Nest have escaped and are setting fires all over the Seireitei." The 3rd Seat of Division 1 reported. "No sign of the Ryoka yet."

"Thank you Okkikiba." Yamamoto said. He hadn't bothered to turn around to hear the report, keeping his eyes and senses focused on the chaos below him. Unfortunately, that meant he didn't see the blade that plunged into his back. He knew the reiatsu coming from the blade to belong to Okkikba, a man he had known for a thousand years.

"The most powerful soul reaper alive is still a soul reaper. Pierce his Hakusui and he becomes as powerless as a newborn soul. This was far easier than I would have ever dreamed, old man." Reiko Tenshin's musical voice was coated with malice and satisfaction. She stood in the doorway to his office, an instrument in her hand similar to a flute. "Die, you old wretch and weep over your stupidity." She waited for the oppressive reiatsu to vanish from the room as the source of his power fell apart. Instead the weight of it doubled and the temperature of the room rose dramatically.

"How naïve. How pathetically hopeful and devoid of truth. Did you truly believe that for a thousand years no one had ever considered such a shameful strategy?" Okkikiba was knocked through the wall of the office by a negligent backhand. Yamamoto turned toward his true attacker, the sword still embedded in his back. The steel glowed with heat and liquefied to drip onto the floor. Reiko, so sure of herself and her plan, suddenly felt very small. "The Hakusui is the source of a soul reaper's power. Do you believe the sword of a 3rd seat could possibly survive contact with mine?" The cane he carried caught fire and revealed his zanpakuto. Ryujin Jakka burst into flames so hot that the wood of the floor was scorched black by the ambient heat.

"Reign over the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru." The voice came from behind Yamamoto, out in the open air beyond the balcony. A pillar of water and ice slammed into his back and was turned to steam almost instantly. In the moment it took Genryuusai to burn the steam away Reiko had vanished. So had the person who had attacked him from outside. He recognized the reiatsu of Captain Hitsugaya in the attack but he knew that was impossible. There was something more going on than just half a dozen Ryoka lead by the Tenshin.

* * *

"Get someone who can use water kido! I can't put these all out on my own!" Anrak shouted desperately at his Division members. The place was, in the most literal sense, going up in flames. Not just the mess hall but the barracks, the officer quarters, the training grounds, everything was burning.

Anrak caught sight of someone walking up to him and was about to ask whoever it was to collapse the barracks, it was already too far gone. The best thing to do now was to prevent the fire from spreading. But Anrak was forced to abandon his efforts to quell the fire when the newcomer tried to stab him in the head with a very familiar blade. He jumped back and caught a good view of his attacker. It was him, well, it was Anrak Ushii if someone had gouged his eyes out. But the sword, flickering with black fire, was a perfect replica of Kage Shitsukoi. His double wore a perfectly blank expression but his malevolence was clear enough in his actions.

Anrak's double matched him move for move with a disturbing symmetry. Every cut, every parry, every foot position was exactly what he would have done. Their swords even reached their limit at the same time, black fire exploding outward from the clashing blades leveled the nearby buildings.

Anrak opened his mouth to make some comment about fighting someone so good looking when three other eye-less fighters stepped out of the smoke with drawn swords. Izuru Kira, Momo Hinamori, and Marechiyo Omaeda, or very convincing doubles, released their swords and advanced. "Son of a-"

* * *

"You need to go, Renji." Isane said from the inside of a cell. Renji had spent the night with her and hadn't left to find the Ryoka when ordered. Instead he'd kept his fiancé company, kept her from feeling too helpless in the cage she'd willingly walked into. Of course, with her skill in kido she could blow out the back wall and wreak havoc, but Captain Unohana would never approve of something like that.

"I know." He said, hanging his head. "I'm just not sure how much more of this bullshit I can put up with." Isane smiled at him guiltily. "I love you, I really do. But your brother is ten pounds of trouble in a five pound bag."

"I know." She said. "It's been like this ever since he was little. He almost caused a diplomatic incident when he was a toddler because he thought it would be funny to drug a diplomat from the Kuchiki family. I still don't know where he got the cocaine from."

"…Really?" Renji asked.

"Yeah. But he never got me thrown in jail before. This is …unpleasantly new."

"I'm going to kick his ass after this. Maybe we can count it as his wedding gift." Renji joked. Isane giggled nervously but stopped when she saw the door open.

"Captain Unohana?" Isane asked. Retsu Unohana smiled warmly at her Lieutenant. That was normal enough but Unohana was carrying her sword. She almost never went armed in the Seireitei, Isane almost always ended up carrying it because her Captain was inclined to leave it in the 4th Division barracks even during combat situations. Isane's sense of unease grew when she realized that her Captain had left the 4th Division hospital during a declared state of emergency, something Unohana had adamantly refused to do in the past. "Renji! That's not Captain Unohana!" Barely were the words out of her mouth when the fake Unohana lifted her hands and fired a kido spell composed of green fire at them.

The guards stationed around the prison building were forced to take cover from the debris sent flying by the explosion. None of them saw the two larger shapes that exited the building through the cloud of smoke and dust. "What the hell?" Renji said through gritted teeth. He had deflected the blast with his own arm, leaving the limb scorched and causing him tremendous pain. His reaction had been instant and instinctual. He'd pulled Isane from her cell and jumped out of the massive hole that had been opened in the wall.

"I don't know what that is, but that is not my Captain." She put her hands over Renji's arm as they ran and started healing the damage. "This isn't too bad, I should be able to take care of it on the move. Look out!" She pulled him aside just before a series of solid beams of light shot through the air where they had been standing. The Unohana replica had caught up to them in less than 10 seconds after leaving the prison. Her smile and easy expression were gone. The gaping darkness where her eyes should have been chilled Isane's heart and crystalized her belief that this thing was not Captain Unohana.

The replica's hands rose with an almost painful slowness, crackling energy gathering in them and aimed at Renji and Isane. "Bakudo 81: Danku!" Isane said desperately, putting a transparent barrier between her and the imminent destructive spell. Yellow lightening slammed into the barrier with ground shaking force. Renji threw himself in front of Isane the moment before the shield collapsed, taking the brunt of the spell's remaining sting.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" the whip-like weapon arced toward Unohana at a trajectory that most fighters would find difficult to predict. The fang-like edge of the blades struck sparks against a nearly invisible barrier about half a foot from Unohana's face.

"Renji, we have to run! It may not be the Captain but that thing is just a strong as she is. The only Captain who stands a chance of beating her is the Captain-Commander."

"We're not going anywhere." The red-haired man said, pulling back his weapon. "She singled us out for a reason. She'll follow us no matter where we go. If we run we run up the collateral damage. I could use some help though." Isane looked uncertainly at her future husband, then back at the evil Unohana. Her mind quickly ran through the exhaustively long list of kido Unohana was capable of, and that was assuming this copy wouldn't revert to Yachiru Unohana.

"Ok. Renji, use your bankai right now." Isane started building up her power to use on kido. She really wanted Itegumo at her side but her sword had been confiscated when she was detained. She could fight without it but she didn't like the idea of being handicapped while fighting a heartless copy of her Captain and mentor.

"Are you sure? I mean you'd pretty much be writing off this whole area." Renji said, envisioning the giant bankai leveling everything within a quarter mile of where they were standing. He almost flinched away from the look Isane gave him. He'd always known her as a warm person, if not particularly social. The look in her wide eyes was like looking outside during a cruel winter storm. Her gaze was artic cold and malicious. "Bankai, right." Renji said, backing down from the argument. "Bankai!" A tornado swirled around Renji and hid him from view while his zanpakuto transformed. "Hihiou Zabimaru." Renji declared with a satisfied smile. The bamboo serpent coiled around him protectively and he looked at Isane. She was actually exuding a visible aura in preparation for the fight. Renji had known her for a long time, decades in fact, but he had never seen her build up so much power at once. He realized how naïve that thought was when he thought of the long hours she worked with healing kido. Could he burn his energy for more than 24 hours without stopping? Unlikely.

"I'll do what I can to counter the more dangerous spells. Try to keep Minazuki from getting too close. It can spit poison."

* * *

Sui-Feng had burst through the garganta moving like a lightning bolt. The two sentries stationed in the emptied Kotetsu Manor didn't know what hit them. As light and slender as she was the force of her blows could have torn them in half if she had hit them in earnest. She arrived just before the six pillars of energy had shot up into the sky above the Seireitei. Through the mixture of reiatsu she felt a signature that she had thought was a trick of her overloaded senses. Lin Feng should have been locked away for the rest of her miserable afterlife not throwing off enough energy to qualify for a Captain's examination. Sui-Feng made for the Maggot's Nest with all the haste she could manage. She passed dozens of unsuspecting soul reapers running every which way like a heard of insects scrambling away from some catastrophe.

When Sui-Feng arrived she found her cousin standing in the midst of the hundreds of prisoners she'd let loose. Hundreds of prisoners who hated Sui-Feng with an almost suicidal passion. "Every time I start thinking you can't possibly do anything more to disgrace our family you surpass my expectations." She sneered. "I suppose I should reward you somehow. Which arm do you want to keep?"

"Not this time. This time you'll be the one in the chair and I'll be the one with the needles." Lin said. "Get her!"

**A/N: Well, this will be the last chapter for a while. Grad school, comprehensive exams, job hunting, and other real life things are demanding more and more of my time lately. I guarantee things will pick back up by May but until then you'll have to sit tight. In the mean time take a look at pago or ZiggyGebs777, both great writers of bleach fanfiction. As always I appreciate reviews.**


	30. Slouching Toward Bethlehem

Chapter 30

Sui-Feng executed a kick that would have torn the hamstrings of anyone less flexible and broke a jaw and cracked a skull. While still in midair she grabbed the head of someone approaching from behind and twisted it savagely. Three down in less than a second but there were hundreds more charging in to attack her. She fought with all the savagery and speed of her former mentor, breaking bones and rupturing organs with every attack. She had to jump over the heads of white-robed attackers every ten or twenty seconds to avoid being bogged down by bodies falling all around her. She would put them all down given enough time. But would Lin give her that time? A fine blade sliced through the back of her haori and put a shallow cut in her skin. At least that was one question answered. Sui-Feng kicked out but Lin was already gone. The foot still knocked the teeth out of a criminal on the follow through.

"So slow!" Lin taunted from somewhere out of sight. Sui-Feng decided she didn't like the playing field so she leveled it. She jumped high and pointed her palm toward the mass of bodies below. Yellow lightening flashed fiercely toward the ground and the thunderclap knocked leaves off the nearby trees. Anyone who wasn't reduced to ash was killed by the powerful shockwave. That left Sui-Feng and Lin alone on the now blackened landscape. "Strike swiftly, She Yao Shang" Lin's zanpakuto glowed green and the blade split in half. With two identical blades connected to the hilt, her sword could inflict slashes less than an inch apart from each other. The dark liquid coating the dual edges of her weapon glistened in the reflected firelight.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi." Sui-Feng released her own zanpakuto, giving herself a powerful offense, but more importantly forming a band of metal she could use to get close to Lin without suffering a poisonous pair of cuts. Sui-Feng had developed an immunity to the majority of poisons but a large enough dose would slow her down and eventually kill her. The next movements were so fast that only someone of Captain rank could have followed them. Lin made the first attack and cut for her cousin's neck. The gauntlet on Sui-Feng's forearm bounced the attack high, a fist speeding for Lin's lower ribs. Lin twisted and caught the blow on her leg, she kept turning and used the momentum to power a kick aimed again at Sui-Feng's neck. She caught the leg under her left arm and stung it with her zanpakuto. Lin's other leg came off the ground and broke the hold before Sui-Feng could finish her second strike. She leaped back and out of range, a Houmonka appearing on the inside of her right thigh just above the knee. "In fifty years you haven't beaten me once. Not running when I was busy with the maggots was stupid."

"For the first time in fifty years I'm fighting for myself, not as your subordinate. I believe the score is two to one in my favor." Sui-Feng frowned. Including the cut on her back the score should be one to one. Then she noticed a kind of burning itch on her right bicep. She risked a glance at it and saw two shallow but inflamed cuts under her sleeve. Lin had managed to tag her while she had the leg pinned. And she was keeping pace with Sui-Feng's speed; that had never happened before.

The intense concentration on their duel was shaken when they felt Yamamoto's reiatsu flare violently. They were too far from the center of the Seireitei but there was a phantom sensation of heat from the direction of the Captain Commander's office. "That incompetent, entitled bitch." Lin spat. "Well, I guess we won't be able to count on reinforcements for a while. Not until Reiko scrapes together enough guts to actually kill the old man."

"Reinforcements? What reinforcements? You can't seriously believe that the Noble Houses will join you if you kill the Captain-Commander." Sui-Feng asked.

"The Houses? You know what your problem is, Shaolin?" Lin said, pointedly using her cousin's given name and not her title. "You don't think far enough outside the box. You do know what sits under the 1st Division barracks, right?" Sui-Feng's mind immediately conjured up the image of a dark and empty hell. An endless void called Muken where the worst criminals in the history of Soul Society were chained for the rest of eternity. Those strange and deviant criminals who simply couldn't be killed, immortals. Sui-Feng's expression sent Lin into a small giggling fit.

"You wouldn't." Sui-Feng tried to reason. "They don't obey orders from anyone. They'd kill you and me and everyone else the moment they were set free."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about that. You'll be dead long before they come crawling out of their hole."

* * *

Pink flower petals drifted with a deceptive laziness around the battlefield. Grimmjow's white armored skin was no longer the smooth surface it had once been. Hundreds if not thousands of scratches marred it, leaving it rough and even broken in a few places. Byakuya Kuchiki, on the other hand, was bloodied from head to toe. His Senbonzakura Kageyoshi had proven strong enough to keep the arrancar's claws from dealing any truly serious wounds but not strong enough to keep Grimmjow from hitting him at all. The arrancar proved again that his speed and power exceeded that of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. He appeared behind Byakuya in a burst of static and clawed for the back of the man's neck. His black claws broke through the cloud of petals and stained the white haori with blood. But in exchange for that shallow wound he was cut dozens of times, the fragments of Byakuya's zanpakuto finally breaking through Grimmjow's armor and cutting into flesh.

The arrancar was knocked away from Byakuya and face first into a sand dune. The former Espada came to his feet bleeding from several dozen fresh cuts and cursing like a sailor. "I'm going to shove my foot so far up your pansy ass-!" He was interrupted by a column of blue fire so hot that the sand was glowing orange with heat when it ended. Both Grimmjow and Byakuya looked to the main palace where the blast originated. Byakuya let out a long-suffering sigh and let his bankai reform into a single blade. "It seems the charade is at an-" Grimmjow landed a solid kick to the soul reaper's head. Byakuya hit the sand, already out cold by the time his coat stopped moving.

"Finally! Knocked that smug look right off your face!"

* * *

Anrak parried Kira's zanpakuto and narrowly ducked the fireball Hinamori fired at him. Omaeda swung the spiked ball of his released zanpakuto down and split the earth open underneath Anrak's feet. The suddenly loose ground put him off balance, a dangerous state to be in when his twin was poised for a killing stroke. The black swords clashed together, forcing Anrak down until his back slammed against the ground. Anrak retaliated by driving a foot into his counterpart's gut and sending it flying toward a burning building. The real Anrak used flash step to gain some distance. These fake soul reapers were not intelligent beings. They fought using predictable patterns and took advantage of situations based on instinct. Their coordination was cursory, unelaborate. But their power was identical to the people they were based off of. That included the replica of him.

The four fakes regrouped and charged him again. This time he took a more proactive approach. He swung Kage Shitsukoi in a one handed diagonal stroke that put Omaeda and Kira off balance. He took the opportunity to crush the collarbone of the fake Hinamori with a heavy punch. He sidestepped his copy's vertical slash, put a foot on the end of the sword and slammed his head into his clone's nose. The fake Anrak turned and caught the headbutt on his cheek, saving the nose. That was the finely honed battle instinct Anrak counted on in the heat of battle, now it was being used against him. But his copy had no capacity to plan through battle routines. Anrak added a shoulder check to his headbutt to put the fake off guard. Then he stepped away and cut the fake Kira from hip to shoulder deep enough that he cut halfway through the fake's spine. Kira fell backward and shattered like glass when he hit the ground. _Ewww. That was disgusting!_ Anrak's zanpakuto complained. "You've never complained before!" Anrak said, ducking the spiked ball that nearly put his face in the back of his head. _WE've never fought things like this before, baka. The reiatsu in them is rotten and using me to cut them is like me biting into spoiled fruit._ "Well sorry, but I don't really feel like trying to win bare handed- oof!" his breath left his lungs as his double's fist slammed into his short ribs. He trapped the arm against his side and slammed the hilt of his sword into the empty eye socket of his double. With a brutal levering motion he used the hilt to split open the side of his double's skull. The lifeless body crumpled to the ground and shattered into tiny flecks of colored glass. Seeing that the red guage on the side of his zanpakuto's blade was full he slashed his blade in the direction of the Hinamori and Omaeda replicas, the tip of his katana brushing the ground and unleashing the pent-up energy in the form of a wave of black fire.

The detonation was loud enough to deafen Anrak for a few moments but it was a small price to pay for the destruction of several opponents. Or so he thought. The pain of a stab wound in his back was the only warning he had that he was under attack. He reacted on instinct, not allowing something as slow as conscious thought to lower his chance of survival, and flash stepped forward. Anrak executed a turn as he moved so that his opponent would no longer be outside his field of vision.

Another fake soul reaper stood there with blood dripping from her claw-like weapon. The eye-less Sui-Feng shook her wrist to clear the blood from her Suzumebachi. Despite the turn of events Anrak didn't really feel surprised. "Of course it's her." He muttered. He readied his sword for the next exchange, acutely aware of the houmounka crest on his back from the first stab.

* * *

Renji Abarai had always been afraid of Retsu Unohana, him and anyone who had ever been in the 11th Division. But it was always something that had lacked the clarity of reason and the force of fact. After today it would have both. He pulled the coils of his bankai back in close so there would be no gaps in his defense. He was missing the left sleeve of his haori because a mere drop of the black poison of Minzuki had landed on it and started seeping through. He'd torn the fabric off and watched in horror as the white fabric discolored and liquefied.

Isane had dropped to her knees next to him with sweat dripping from her face. This false Unohana had cast no less than 50 upper level kido spells that Isane had been forced to deflect or block with spells of her own. The oldest Kotetsu sister had reiatsu reserves not to be believed, but she was a stamina runner not a sprinter. The spells had been too powerful and she'd had too little time to rest in between each. She watched the walls of bamboo segments shudder under the impact of another charge from Minazuki.

"Isane?" Renji asked the prone woman.

"Still here." She panted.

"Did you know Captain Unohana was this powerful?"

"This powerful? Renji, she hasn't used her bankai or any kido spells above level 70. She's going easy on us."

"I was afraid you were going to say that. Where the hell is everyone else? We've wrecked half a mile of storage buildings, someone has to have figured out what's going on by now." Renji complained. Then his brain went ahead and filled in the next few steps of that train of thought. No one was coming to help them because everyone was too busy with problems of their own. They were fighting a fake of Captain Unohana, who was to say that there wasn't a fake for every Captain in the Gotei 13 right now? He was brought back to the problem at hand by another powerful impact against the cocoon he had formed of his zanpakuto. "We need to go on the attack."

"Renji, I know she doesn't look like it but Captain Unohana is nearly as fast as Captain Sui-Feng when she wants to be. Any attack powerful enough to kill her is too slow to actually hit her."

"Then you'll have to keep her from moving. Hit her with the strongest binding spell you've got and I'll do the rest."

* * *

Kinji was burning though his energy faster than he ever had before but he wasn't exhausted. The last blast of flame was so intense that it smashed through the powerful barrier he had placed around the room and left a 20 foot hole in the outer wall. His brother was smoking slightly but unharmed despite the fact that everything around him had been melted into molten slag. Jiro's golden hair wasn't even mussed form the onslaught. He waved the black sword in his right hand and the heat cooled to normal temperatures in an instant.

"Why the Sword? Are you afraid I'll steal the Mirror's power if you try to use it against me? Afraid my connection to it is stronger than yours?" Kinji asked, trying to break down Jiro's confidence in any way he could.

"A little." Jiro admitted. "So I decided it was power better spent elsewhere." He held up the Mirror so Kinji could look into it. Kinji saw Sui-Feng and Lin standing in a scorched area surrounded by a forest. As he watched he saw no less than six figures walk out of the trees. He immediately noticed three details about what was happening. First, all six of the figures were wearing the white haori of a Captain of the Gotei 13. Second, all six of the newcomers were the same eyeless husks that he and Sui-Feng had fought once before. Third, he was in no position to do anything to save the woman he loved from impending death.

"Jiro, don't do this." Kinji's voice was half-choked with panic. His brother smiled at him. "She's your sister by marriage. She's done nothing to you."

"You brought her into this, nii-sama. You can't blame me if something unfortunate happens to her."

* * *

Sui-Feng looked at the newcomers with flat eyes. She would never panic, no matter the odds stacked against her. But she accepted the inevitability of her death when she recognized the Captains who had come against her. Shinji Hirako, Love Aikawa, Rojuro Otoribashi, Kensei Muguruma, Kenpachi Kiganjo, and Kisuke Urahara. Of course Kisuke would be there at the end, the final insult in a life that had done nothing but take things away from her. She had never indulged in self-pity. The only time she had ever let her emotions determine her actions was after Lady Yoruichi had already beaten her. But now? She looked into the emotionless faces of her executioners and let herself feel just a bit of sadness at the things she would never have. She had been so close. If things had worked out she would have had a husband who loved her, in-laws who actually seemed to care about their family, and a pet cat. She'd devoted her life to duty and responsibility and never asked for anything in return. But for a moment she'd actually lived her life like a real person.

And it was all over. Lin had somehow become her peer if not her equal. With six Captain level allies she had no chance at all of escape, let alone victory. All that was left for her was the inevitable darkness. But then moment was over and Sui-Feng felt the steel come back into her eyes. She crouched for one last charge at Lin and a white aura began building around her, the energy of shunko being prepared to propel her like a bullet toward her target. Her feelings were muted to little more than background noise as her mind and body oriented toward her goal. Lin sneered at her preparations.

"I'll say this much for you, you're a cold bitch right up until the end." Lin said. "Kill her." The six ex-Captains drew their swords.

* * *

Kinji felt his brother's cruel, mocking words turn his blood cold. His plan crystalized in a moment with no consideration of future consequences of his actions. The thoughts lined up in his head were simple and unbelievably motivating. His brother was about to kill his wife. His brother was within attack range and his wife's attackers were not. Therefore, his brother needed to lose an arm, specifically the arm holding the Mirror. Kinji donned the silver mask almost as an afterthought. It fit perfectly to his face and grew hot against his skin as it fused to him. The pain of that permanent joining barely registered to Kinji amidst the rush of power and the irresistible impulse that demanded he take the Mirror away from his brother.

The Mirror still showed the image of Sui-Feng preparing for a sacrificial attack against Lin and Kinji oriented on it as something that needed to be destroyed. Jiro Kotetsu didn't sit idle when he saw the desperate expression on his brother's face. He'd seen that expression many times in the last 50 years, typically on the face of an incompetent minion about to be executed. Without exception the people with that expression lashed out with the intent to kill him. For the most part they weren't a threat. But he had a moment of sincere doubt in the wisdom of his actions when he saw Kinji put the silver mask onto his face and felt the sudden shift in Kinji's reiatsu. The Lord of Hueco Mundo vanished from his senses but the Sword and Mirror could still feel him. A soft blue glow seemed to cover the fox tails making everything around them seem less solid, less real than the tails. Kinji's next movement was almost instantaneous and his hand was gripped onto the Mirror before Jiro could react. Pain shrieked up from his forearm when the intense, otherworldly heat of Kinji's power scorched his flesh and drove itself into the mental space he shared with the Mirror. He heard the very feminine voice of Miko rise into a keening wail and break apart into an inhuman, almost insectile buzz of sound.

The entire floor of the building exploded into blinding blue-white light that put a stop to all fighting in the dome of Las Noches. The fire that rose from the explosion charred the false image of the sky and burned out the fake sun making it the only source of illumination in the massive structure.

* * *

Sui-Feng's lunge toward her cousin was perfect. The energy of her shunko exploded from her back and propelled her toward her target. Her Captain's haori was shredded by the technique leaving her much more streamlined. But it was futile, Sui-Feng saw it immediately. The false Urahara and Shinji had to move only a single step toward Lin to block her path while she had to move more than 20 feet to be within striking range. The two husks of former Captains stepped in front of Lin like a pair of human shields. She smiled grimly, at least the last thing she would see is her weapon plunging through Kisuke Urahara's chest. Her Suzumebachi did just that. She felt her momentum stall upon impact and caught the glint of steel at both edges of her field of vision and waited for the killing stokes to fall. She was pleasantly surprised when the six husks ignited like magnesium flares and burned down to nothing. The arm she had buried to the elbow in the Urahara husk didn't even feel burned despite the coating of ash darkening her skin. She redoubled the pressure on her shunko and surged forward through the haze of ash and lingering flames to pierce the throat of a disbelieving Lin Feng.

The black and gold spike slid into her flesh easily, piercing her windpipe and slipping between her vertebrae. "Goodbye Lin." Sui-Feng said, twisting her wrist to sever Lin's spinal cord. The taller but still petite woman crumpled to the ground, not quite dead but no longer breathing. Sui-Feng exalted in the unexpected triumph but she felt a pang of pity for Lin. So many members of her family had been disappointments. Her brothers had simply failed in their duty and Sui-Feng had felt disgusted by their incompetence. Lin was different. She had an abundance of skill and power to meet her responsibilities but she had forsaken them. She pitied Lin because she represented a tremendous waste. Sui-Feng understood better than most what it meant to kill. When you kill someone you destroy anything they ever might have been. When Sui-Feng imagined what Lin could have been it made her feel guilty. She looked at the blood on her hand, the blood of her family. "Is there something wrong with us?" Sui-Feng asked the dying Lin. She remembered the look on Kinji's face when he described killing his father and compared it to how she felt after killing Lin. There was no real similarity. Kinji grieved his father all the more because he had ended his life while she felt a small stirring of pity for what might have been and that worried her. Could she do family the way Kinji did?

Sui-Feng again set her emotions aside and waited until Lin's spiritual energy disappeared. She left the body there, unburied, and went to go finish the mission she had originally returned to the Seireitei to accomplish.

* * *

Unfortunately, the six husks attacking Sui-Feng were the only ones that Kinji had the power to eliminate in the small window of opportunity his attack allowed. The other husks shuddered for a few moments due to the disruption of the links between the Mirror and her creations. But the vast majority of the husks did not burst into flames or suffer and real damage. The brief pause, while not directly harmful to them, provided their opponents a chance for victory. Anrak took advantage of the momentary weakness to cut down the false Sui-Feng and sighed in relief. The black marks of more than a dozen houmounka marks, some of them very close together, faded from his skin.

* * *

"Nine wheels intersecting, a Pithos filled with tainted blood, pour out into the nothingness." The energy of Isane's kido created an aura of black light around her and made Renji feel heavy. He waited for her to finish her incantation so he could get a decent shot at the Unohana husk. Again the realization hit him that there was something deeply wrong with the members of the Kotetsu family. He'd only seen it in person from two of them but every single one of them had the potential to go from perfectly sane to bat-shit crazy given the right type of stimulus. For Kinji it had been either the theft of his home made booze or the fondling of his sisters. For Isane it seemed to be the prospect of others being hurt when she could prevent it. Add to that the fact that Isane's father and younger brother had been complicit in attempting to overthrow the Seireitei and Kiyone's ridiculous fanaticism regarding her Captain and you had the makings of a family history of insanity. And then there was the fact that Kinji had decided to marry Sui-Feng, by all accounts the second most terrifying woman in Soul Society.

That thought brought Renji's fears back to the present situation and the very deadly replica of the most terrifying woman in Soul Society. Isane's spell was putting more and more weight on his shoulders and making it difficult to operate his bankai. "Any time now." Renji said to Isane.

"Still the movement of the heavens!" Isane shouted as her incantation was completed. "Bakudo 79: Kuyo Shibari!" The dark aura around Isane vanished. Renji parted the coils of Zabimaru to see what the effect was and prepared to attack. Isane did not disappoint. Eight orbs of dark energy surrounded the Unohana husk and one hovered near her neck. The ground underneath her cracked from the gravitational force being exerted. Unfortunately, the husk was not completely helpless. Minazuke, a huge manta-like creature with a single eye, let out a cry and attacked. Renji saw the manifested zanpakuto coming but he gambled that he could kill the false Unohana before it hit them and that would probably destroy the counterfeit zanpakuto as well. The snake head of the bankai moved in a swerving line toward the husk and Renji snapped the handle of his weapon. All the energy holding the zanpakuto together flared crimson and gathered in the mouth of the weapon. Minazuki bore down on them, close enough that hey could feel the air it displaced before it. Renji realized that he wasn't going to make it and that both he and Isane were going to be crushed.

The creature twitched and hit the ground hard, coming to a stop before it could harm either of them. A dim blue glow coated it and let off little flickers of fire. The orb of energy in Renji's bankai exploded, the majority of the blast struck the husk straight on and shattered it into the strange glass-like particles that it had been composed of. Both Renji and Isane collapsed in exhaustion, lying next to each other in the rubble. "Isane?" Renji asked.

"Yes." Isane said to confirm that she was still conscious.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think your family is a special kind of crazy." Renji said bluntly.

"I know. But you learn to live with it." She said, not bothering to deny his accusation.

"Anything else I should know before we get married?" he asked.

"I'm a little sensitive about my height." Renji couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. Isane followed him a moment later, both of them letting out all the frantic energy and fear that had driven them during the fight.

* * *

The pommel of the Sword slammed down onto the back of Kinji's neck and made him lose his grip on the Mirror. On instinct he rolled away before the dark energy of the Sword could reduce him to nothing. The floor was extremely hot but still whole and still solid. Kinji used one of his seven remaining tails to pull himself away from Jiro and the other six to block the arc of annihilating energy the Jiro sent his way. The hammering of heart seemed disproportionate to his chest. Every pulse of flowing blood felt like it was going to burst his veins and arteries. His body was pulling in power from his zanpakuto as the two grew closer to merging together. It was simply too much for any mortal creature to endure for long.

It wasn't just the excessive power that put a strain on him either. His mind was open. He could feel the wider world, one stripped of its' rosy illusions, pressing down on him like the weight of some unbearable and hideous truth. Words like Above and Below took on vastly new meanings and significances. And he could See them. The Sword and the Mirror stood before him in all their awful glory. Their shapes were hazy and not in the least human, though they held a vague humanoid shape. Eyes and mouths and twisting shapes he couldn't identify covered bodies composed of midnight black. And they looked back at him with unmasked malice and hatred. Kinji had to look away from those shapes and their alien thoughts. He glanced briefly up and Looked. Light so brilliant and pure that Kinji felt burned by it seared his sight and his mind. After a brief moment a huge wing covered in white feathers unfurled and guarded his eyes from that too-pure light. It was beautiful but also alien to him, as Kinji discovered when each feather opened into an eye gleaming with pale reflections of that burning light. The hundreds of eyes focused on him. Kinji was suddenly and terribly aware of every misdeed and every harm he had committed in his life as well as how simple it would have been to make the right choice instead of the wrong one. It made him want to weep.

Kinji put his hands over his eyes and screamed in fear and pain. He dropped to his knees and curled the tails of his bankai around himself protectively. Kinji's retreat and subsequent collapse gave Jiro time to heal his burned hand and arm. Kinji's fire had nearly blackened it to the bone. Jiro didn't bother to watch as new sinew and muscle tissue crawled down from his elbow and new skin followed to coat the flesh in a new nearly alabaster coating. Good as new in 20 seconds. He felt a far more pleasant heat crawling up his other arm and saw a black material sliding up the arm that hadn't been burned. Jiro smiled. The process of apotheosis, ascending to godhood, had just begun. Once it was complete there was nothing and no one on that plane of reality that could hope to stop him. Not even his damned brother. Kinji had hurt him and had hurt the Mirror. He hadn't really considered that to be possible, given that Miko was essentially a being of a higher order than mere soul reapers.

"How can you be this strong? You're nothing special. You're not even using the Gem." Jiro asked.

"It's your fault." Kinji replied. "You turned my life into a crucible, made me stronger every time you beat me down without killing me." Kinji forced himself to acclimate to his new existence as much as he could. He could feel parts of himself slipping away under the press of the mask's power but he set the pain of that loss aside. There were more important things going on. "Just like this mask. You'd better kill me now; there's no telling what I'll be when it's done changing me."

"I could say the same." Jiro replied, refusing to be intimidated. He raised his right arm so Kinji could see the black skin that had swallowed his whole arm and most of his shoulder.

"Then I'll take your advice. When you finish changing there won't be anything left of you for me to save." Kinji reached to his left and grabbed a tail. It exploded in a haze of blue fire and resolved itself into a stylized curved scythe easily 8 feet long and razor sharp. A scythe with a perpendicular blade was, in most circumstances, a terrible combat weapon. But when the scythe in question was capable of slicing through solid steel and emitting heat that could cook a live cow, its' combat capability was inestimable. The next few exchanges would have been invisible to the eyes of all but the fastest soul reapers. The shockwaves set off by their clash and the excess energy produced was obvious to everyone who was still conscious. Every collision of the emerging transcendent beings caused the floor they were on to collapse. The onlookers watched the gradual demolition of the main palace of Las Noches in something approaching awe. The silence and stillness of the crowd was shattered when the combatants got to ground level and the energy being unleashed vaporized a pair of unranked arrancars who were standing too close. Everyone else scattered and took off running. It probably saved a great many lives because when the Kotetsu brothers left the confines of the ruined palace.

They burst through the wall of Las Noches and out into the deserts of Hueco Mundo less than a minute later, rocketing past the few arrancars and soul reapers still fighting there. Ulquiorra Schiffer watched the two demi-gods dance across the sands at impossible speeds, moving toward the ruins of Ai Aomai and Catalina Ixchel. She could feel their power, unlike the majority of the arrancars and soul reapers in Hueco Mundo. She had been given power and a specific task. Ai Aomai had been built to contain the power of the three Imperial Artifacts and she was supposed to guard them. It was a responsibility she had never been able to fulfill until that day. Both Jiro and Kinji felt it when they stepped onto the grounds of the ruins. It partially suppressed the transcendent power fuelling their battle. But it didn't stop their transformation. Kinji only had no tails left, just the one manifested weapon. Jiro's body was almost completely covered by the black skin crawling out from the Sword.

* * *

The Hogyoku had slipped from Kinji's pocket and fallen on the sands of Hueco Mundo. Despite the fact that his body had been devoured by the Hogyoku, Aizen's essence was still very much alive and his will could influence things around the Gem to a small degree. Being lost in a desert full of sand wasn't ideal but Aizen knew Kinji was planning on destroying the Gem and ending what was left of his existence. That was unacceptable. So he would bide his time. It was even possible that, given the time and effort, he could force the Hogyoku to recreate his body. And now he had time. All the time in the world.

**A/N: Took me a while but I finally stole enough time to finish this chapter. Sorry for the long wait.**


	31. Funeral Pyre I

Chapter 31

"…_remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare."-CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory_

The last body fell to the stone floor with a grotesque splat and flung droplets of blood on Sui-Feng's legs. She felt a measure of relief at the thought of the last of the corrupted Central 46 members dead and gone. The days of Jiro Kotetsu and the Tenshin making the Seireitei dance to their tune was over. Too bad the price was so high.

On her way to her targets she'd seen the Seireitei burning in more than two dozen places and the occasional explosion demolishing a building. It was so far beyond a mess that Sui-Feng couldn't describe it without resorting to extremely foul language. The place was going to require a slew of reconstruction and renovation before it would stop looking like a battlefield. But that wasn't her problem right now. Her problem was figuring out what the hell she should do from here. She wanted to return to Hueco Mundo and make sure that Kinji hadn't done something monumentally stupid, but she still had an unwavering loyalty to the Seiretei, in spite of all Central 46 had put her through. But how could she possibly help out the Gotei 13 without them arresting her on sight? No, the Gotei 13 would have to fend for themselves this time around. Her place was with her new family, as grating as her in-laws could sometimes be.

That was when she remembered Isane. She hadn't been able to make it to Hueco Mundo before the arrest order had come down from Central 46. Sui-Feng left the underground bunker and proceeded at speed to the repentance cells where a Lieutenant would doubtless be put subsequent to arrest. When she arrived she saw the cells smashed to smithereens. She almost cracked a smile at that thought. When had she started using words like "smithereens"? Too much time around the Kotetsus, she guessed. _Or maybe your lover found a way to pull the stick out of your- _Sui-Feng silenced Suzumebachi's voice and her own amusement with an effort of will and refocused on her goal. She could feel Isane's power signature to the north of the ruined prison…and Renji was there too.

It wasn't that she hated Renji, it was that every time she interacted with him she ended up humiliated and he ended up in the infirmary. _Hey, just remember that his little prank is probably the reason you and Kinji are married._ Her zanpakuto reminded her. That was a truly disturbing thought. That she might have to thank Renji Abarai for laying her unconscious body in the bed of an injured man for a cheap laugh. A shudder ran down her spine and it wasn't because of the cold air.

Her next flash step took her to the spot where the two exhausted soul reapers lay next to each other on the ground, laughing like a pair of idiots. "Isane? What happened here?" Sui-Feng asked. Everything for half a mile was completely leveled, and there was a kind of rotten stink in the air that Sui-Feng couldn't quite place but seemed unpleasantly familiar.

"Captain Sui-Feng! You can't be here! What if someone finds you?" Isane asked, trying to get to her feet and failing miserably.

"You don't have to address me so formally anymore, Isane. Besides, I'm not sure I can claim the title of Captain anymore." She cast a far less friendly look at Renji. "And I'm not sure he can either. Get off your ass, Abarai. The Seireitei is on fire, no Captain should be laying down unless they're dead." She reached down and hauled him back to his feet. He stumbled for a moment but stayed up. There weren't more than a few cuts and bruises on the man but Sui-Feng could tell that his reiatsu was almost completely drained. The decision barely took a second to make, even though she knew she would probably regret it later. A green glow enveloped her hand and she pressed it to his chest. The transfer of reiatsu was among the most basic of medical kido, well within the limits of her skills. She didn't give him much but it would be enough to keep him mobile which was all she really needed from him.

"Uh, thanks." He said awkwardly.

"Don't thank me. Do. Your. Job." She gave him a shove toward the nearest fire and helped Isane to her feet.

"Make sure she's safe." Renji said before running toward the nearest group of soul reapers to get them organized and putting out fires. Even weakened, the position of Captain was vital to the command structure of the Seireitei. When he was out of sight, Sui-Feng opened the garganta by channeling her power through the bracelet Kinji had given her.

"We're getting out of here." Isane leaned on the smaller woman as they stepped through the tear in space.

"We should stay here and help." Isane protested. Sui-Feng just shook her head in amazement.

"You're in no shape to do anything. Besides, the rest of your, I mean our, family is back in Hueco Mundo. They need as much help as anyone." And she was nervous about what kind of stupidity Kinji would indulge in while she was gone. It wasn't that she didn't trust his loyalty or integrity, just his judgement. It might have been something she should talk to a psychologist about but she had to question the choices of anyone who pursued a romantic relationship with her. She wasn't exactly the safe or sane choice for a girlfriend or wife. But Kinji chose her. By some crazy fluke of luck or quirk of fate he wanted to build a family with her. She would do almost anything to hold onto that.

"How are they?" Isane asked.

"Fine when I left. That's part of why I want to get back. Your mother and sister are probably going crazy in the underground levels by now and Kinji was safe in the palace throne room. But looking at how things turned out here I bet things didn't stay that way."

#

Kinji held tightly onto the crumbling scythe and circled the monster his brother had become warily. His body ached like every muscle and tendon had been stretched beyond its' limits. His transformation had stalled just short of completion. Jiro's had progressed smoothly with only one of his eyes and his mouth remaining clear of the black covering.

Their fight had progressed into the ruins of Ai Aomai, bringing them into the only standing structure left. But despite the raging, out of control energies they were throwing off the old building was still standing. Kinji's fire hadn't so much as left a scorch mark on the ancient stone. Jiro's attacks had damaged Kinji's weapon almost to the point of breaking. The Sword had elongated into a true sword, its' black blade straight and viciously sharp. That edge had taken chunks out of Kinji's scythe and burned small patches of his skin away with every near miss.

"Just give up. Let go and I'll make your death quick." Jiro said. Kinji flinched to hear it. Under Jiro's voice there was another, less human voice echoing his words. He couldn't tell if it was Jiro talking to him or if the Sword had turned him into a hand puppet. Or possibly both. And worse, he could see veins of silver snaking through Jiro's left arm as the Mirror added to his power. Maybe it was hopeless, maybe he should let go. Kinji jerked back to wary attention. Now that he was aware of it he could feel the Sword's energy influencing him. He looked suspiciously at the small wounds where that black power had probably seeped into him. A moment's concentration and black blood leaked out of his wounds. He felt his head clear immediately, the malevolent influence vanishing with the invading energy.

The scythe ignited and turned back into a tail for a just a moment before sinking into Kinji's body. His transformation started again, heat building and pulsing. Then the pain started. Jiro sensed the moment of weakness, striking for Kinji's neck even as his brother collapsed to his knees. The blade was less than an inch from Kinji's neck when the former soul reaper exploded. Had Jiro been a true soul reaper he would have been familiar with such a process of transformation. It was what happened to souls when they became hollows. It was a profound reorganization and restructuring of a spiritual being's body.

Kinji reappeared a few moments later, not as the ugly hulking creature that most souls became but in human shape. He didn't reform entirely as he had been, however. His bare chest was covered in silver lines, as if the metal mask had been melted and painted onto him. His eyes where a shimmering blue backed by black sclera and his silver hair emitted a barely visible halo of pale fire. Nine fist-sized spheres of blue fire hung in a circle behind his back. He no longer wore the vest and coat he had favored while he was still mortal. He was garbed from the waist down in a heavy silken robe covered partially by plates of some shimmering semi-solid metal. On his forehead was the seven pointed star that had been the tsuba of his zanpakuto. His appearance made Jiro take a cautious step back even though he could see no weapon in his brother's hands. Jiro couldn't feel his power in as a measurable quantity like he could before the transformation but Kinji's presence felt like a bad sunburn on the black skin covering him.

Kinji was physically there but the look in his eyes said that his mind was still running to catch up. Jiro tried to stab his bother in the chest but Kinji reacted on reflex. One of the flame orbs knocked the Sword away and Kinji's fist slammed into his face like a sledgehammer, knocking him several dozen feet away and breaking his cheek and jawbone. He bounced like a stone skipped over water and hit the wall hard enough to shake dust from the entire room. "So light." Kinji murmured, more to himself than to Jiro. The would-be ruler of Soul Society scrambled to get back up after the crushing hit but Kinji caught him before he was on his feet. He hauled his brother up by the black skin/fabric and slammed him hard into the wall, dislodging more dust. "I could kill you right now. Burn you to ash along with those poisonous things attached to your hands."

"But you won't." Jiro reminded him. "You still want to save your brother." The deeper voice was becoming clearer, and the words it used implied that Jiro was no longer in the driver's seat.

"Well, at least I'm talking to the mind running the show. Who and what are you, really?" Kinji detected a kind of psychic stain gathering in the area the more the Sword seemed to take over. It wasn't a sixth sense sort of sensation either. He could smell and taste something foul on the air and the part of his body closest to Jiro felt oily and unclean.

"We are your new gods. We will show you pleasures beyond imagining if you bow to our will. There will be no more pain, no more sorrow, only pleasure." Kinji was beginning to hear the first hints of Miko's voice beneath the other two. He narrowed his eyes at the walking abomination his brother had become. What it, or rather they, had just promised was something Kinji felt disgusted by. The best things in life didn't come without the risk of great pain, he knew that better than most. What the so called gods were describing wasn't some ideal society, it was the abolition of humanity. It was the reduction of sentient beings to the level of mere animals. It was a gentler form of genocide but it was still genocide.

"While I'm sure my lifespan doesn't seem like much to creatures like you, I can say with certainty that I wasn't born yesterday. I'm sure some gullible or desperate souls would bite at that sort of bait but not me." Kinji raised his right hand and two of the flames at his back hovered in front of his palm. They flared from blue to nuclear white. "Nagareboshi." Kinji said a moment before two twisting streams of radiant white fire erased the abomination from his sight.

#

Catalina Ixchel was very old. She had been in Hueco Mundo before it was named Hueco Mundo and even before it had been turned into a barren wasteland. She was one of the few living beings to have received orders from the Soul King directly and in person so transcendent beings were not totally out of the realm of her experience. But she had never seen one of them truly exercise their power before. A painfully bright lights shone from deep inside the ruins of Ai Aomai's former temple. It was so intense that she could see lines of light pouring out through the cracks in the old walls. The excess flames and heat flew out of the entrance to the temple like a train coming out of a tunnel. If she had been standing in its' path she would have been turned to ash in a matter of moments. No soul reaper or hollow or arrancar in history had ever possessed that level of destructive power. The ground beneath the temple started to glow a sullen orange as the sands liquefied and turned to glass. Even a building with the blessing of the Soul King might not survive a clash between two creatures as monstrous as Kinji and Jiro had become.

There was nothing she could do but wait for things to play out. Maybe if Barragan hadn't gone and gotten himself killed there would be something someone could do to tip the scales of the fight. But her powers existed to contain the three artifacts, not fight against them. Catalina drew on the ability gifted to her by the Soul King and projected a powerful barrier around the temple. It was all she could do to help Kinji until he removed the artifacts from their host. The barrier rose over the stone structure like some kind of vine or parasitic plant creeping over a wall. When it was finished Catalina sat down on one of the fallen stones and waited with her zanpakuto in hand. She would get her chance.

#

Jiro Kotetsu, or what remained of him, emerged from his brother's inferno completely encased in the black skin, his eyes perfectly white from within it. The triple overlaid voice was annoyingly smug. "Fire? Do you think we can be destroyed by something so crude?"

"A diamond might be hard and durable, but find a big enough hammer…" Kinji said in reply. He reached out with both hands and two fire orbs answered his call. They settled in his hands and shaped themselves into a pair of katanas. The first was a silvery blade with an encircled seven pointed star for a tsuba, the other a black blade with a five pointed star for a tsuba. "Or hit it in just the right way and it crumbles." Kinji went on the offensive, both swords slashing and stabbing, aiming for his brother's wrists and arms. Jiro fended him off with the Sword and Mirror. The former pushed aside attacks and the later blocked them. The furious dance sounded like an unending stream of boulders striking a flat piece of steel. Waves of blue and black energy lapped against the walls, mere fragments of the power the two brothers directed at each other. Jiro was about to counterattack when the black sword suddenly moved far faster than before. Before he could defend himself the keen blade had severed both arms at the shoulder and slid into his guts right where the abdominal aorta would be on a human. The pain was far more than it should have been in his new form.

The illusion vanished and Jiro realized everything was as it had been just before he had been injured. He blocked Kinji's slash with the Sword but he felt the second blade slip past his guard and open his abdomen. He grabbed for the katana with his left hand but Kinji jumped back out of reach. He attacked again, black sword leading. Jiro raise the Mirror to block it and the blade sheered through both the Mirror and his arm. The other sword ran cleanly through his throat. Jiro felt it all keenly and even stopped breathing for a moment. But then everything was as it had been mere moments ago. Jiro's reaction was too slow and Kinji lopped off his arm just above where the Mirror was strapped. The second sword batted the relic away from Jiro.

Jiro, or what was once formerly known as Jiro, thought Kinji would press his attack and try to end the fight. Instead, Kinji turned and stabbed the Mirror with both of his swords. The Mirror slipped over the floor and back toward Jiro and Kinji's blades struck sparks off the stone. The severed arm reattached itself in moments and the shimmering veins in his arm and shoulder reconnected to the Mirror and began growing once more. Kinji repeated this process over and over again using the power of the black blade, Chishi Kyogi - the illusion of death, to throw Jiro off balance before he followed up with his second sword.

Under other circumstances he would never use a weapon so barbaric. It was the only weapon he had discovered after his hollowfication and represented the kind of unrestrained malice that hollows embodied. But he couldn't think of another way to hurt his enemy. He'd tried fire and that had failed. The physical wounds he created, the slashed belly and severed limb, healed almost as fast as he caused them. Repeated trauma might be the only thing that could wear an opponent like this down. If he could incapacitate Jiro for a few seconds he might be able to disconnect the Mirror from this abomination in progress. And it was progressing, there was no doubt about that. Jiro was healing faster from the injuries he inflicted the longer the fight dragged out. The clearest sign of change was when the black skin covering Jiro's face started to crack and flake away. Kinji wasn't sure what to expect but he certainly didn't expect what he got. It wasn't Jiro's face that emerged from that disgusting cocoon, it wasn't the face of any mortal creature either. It was androgynous and breathtakingly beautiful, a dusky skin with midnight black hair and a face smooth as carved marble. But the overall effect was ghastly. Kinji saw its eyes, inky black and bottomless, and decided that it was worse than simply ugly or unaesthetic. The sheer malice in those eyes surrounded by nigh perfect beauty was repulsive in several ways. Kinji had to reach deep in his memory to find a suitable word for the impression that face conveyed and there was only one word that seemed to fit. And it was a word that stirred something deep inside him and for a moment he considered the implications of such a word being so fitting to this creature.

Blasphemy.

Kinji felt again the impulse to simply try burning the evil thing to nothing but scorched reishi, as he had when Reiko used the Mirror to send a duplicate of herself to Hueco Mundo. But this time was a bit different. He didn't feel driven beyond reason this time, more like the weight of a friend's suggestion weighing on his mind. He shoved the impulse aside and got ready to continue the fight.

#

"I'm sorry, my ear must have something crazy in it. What did you say?" Sui-Feng asked sarcastically.

"He'll try to save Jiro even if it kills him." Isane repeated.

"But he's a traitor! He tried to overthrow the Soul King and has either attempted or planned the murder of his entire family and the few friends he actually has. He's not repentant in the least."

"It doesn't matter." Isane said sadly. "After what he went through when he killed father I don't think he's capable of killing another family member. I don't think any of us could go through that again." Old pain made her chest tighten.

"I still can't understand that. What does family mean to you?" Isane looked at her in surprise then something resembling pity.

"Unconditional love. They're the people who will love you no matter what." Isane tried to think of a way that she could ask her next question that wouldn't be offensive or cause Sui-Feng pain. "I know it isn't always that way, especially if you belong to a noble bloodline."

"No, it isn't." Sui-Feng's voice was cold and even, a clear warning sign that he mood was taking a turn for the worse.

"I'm sorry. Wasn't there anyone who looked out for you when you were young?" Isane asked, very aware that she was treating on thin ice. But this was important. Isane hadn't quite warmed up to Sui-Feng but she was technically her sister by marriage.

Sui-Feng's mind went back a century to a time when she had still been serving Lady Yoruichi. She had thought that her mentor had been that, someone who would be there for her no matter the circumstance. But then her master's betrayal and abandonment for the next century had made her believe such a bond didn't really exist. Her reunion with Yoruichi had rekindled some of that hope but it was still a fragile thing.

"Not really." Sui-Feng admitted. Isane frowned deeply and looked down at the smooth walkway of reishi Sui-Fng was projecting to keep them from falling into the bottomless chasm of the garganta. It hadn't wavered once while Isane poked and prodded her soul like the medic she was. Most people didn't know this but the medics of the 4th Division were also train counselors and they dealt with everything from battle shock to chronic depression.

"I know this doesn't make up for that, but…" Isane swallowed the lump in her throat. "Would you like to come with me and Kiyone next time we take a couple days off?" Sui-Feng stopped running and looked at her sister- in-law with shock. She felt something inside her soften and realized it was the same feeling she experienced when Lady Yoruichi spent time with her. But, just like with her old mentor there was something that made her hesitate.

"I don't think Kiyone would want me along." Sui-Feng said and started running again. As messed up as it was, she was more comfortable talking about violence than she was planning events with her new sister.

"She forgave you for Sokyoku Hill a long time ago. She's just a little concerned that you haven't forgiven her for siding with Captain Ukitake during the Ryoka invasion."

"I would have, before Central 46 started breaking the laws and the Tenshin started a rebellion. Now?" Sui-Feng shook her head. "I can understand what she did a little better." The light at the end of their journey brightened and they stepped out onto white sand. Sui-Feng was immediately alert to the inconsistency. The garganta she opened should have taken them to the first floor of the main palace. She looked up and found a partial roof still hanging overhead but the majority of the structure had been smashed to smithereens. "I should have seen this coming." Sui-Feng said, her voice dryer than the sand she was standing on. She was suddenly very glad that she'd asked Haru to hold onto her cat in the underground basement. There was no way Kohaku would have survived if he'd still been in the main palace.

"I don't feel Kinji's reiatsu." Isane said.

"That moron!" Sui-Feng said hotly. Either he'd put on the mask or he'd used the garganta to lead his attacker somewhere else. She looked for the nearest high ranking arrancar and used flash step to bring her to them in an instant. She appeared in front of Sun-Sun and grabbed the arrancar's collar. "Report!" her words carried the whip-crack of command and Sun-Sun was talking before she realized what she was doing.

"Lord Kotetsu and someone else broke through the dome's wall almost half an hour ago. He left orders for us to hold Las Noches if he left. He destroyed the main palace but I didn't feel any reiatsu. I think he was wearing his mask."

"Dammit! Isane, stay here and help with the wounded." She shouted down to where the silver haired Lieutenant stood, leaned up against the building wall. "I'm going to go get some help and rescue my idiot husband." She snapped her fingers and opened another garganta, this one leading to the World of the Living. Isane could see a small shop through the opening.

#

The thing that Kinji was fighting had taken the offensive. He used the seven remaining balls of fire to guard himself. They struck the Sword and Mirror as if they were made of solid iron and kept Kinji from being cut by the Sword. Each slash and stab was knocked away or halted in mid-swing. Kinji used his two swords to attack the increasingly rare openings in his opponent's guard. It seemed increasingly futile. The cuts healed almost instantly and his ability to induce illusions of death didn't even seem to faze this new creature. And what was worse, the Mirror hadn't fully integrated yet which meant it would only get stronger.

"You're not Jiro, what the hell do I call you?" Kinji asked. He didn't like the deadly dispassion the creature was displaying. It was surpassing him in power and unless it showed some kind of weakness it would eventually kill him. He needed a psychological foothold and using its' name might be that leverage.

"Mahlik. That is the name you small creatures will cry out with your faces in the dirt as I accept your pitiful sacrifices." The voice was the low one, no longer obscured in the least by Jiro's high baritone. Every trace of his brother seemed to have vanished.

"And the other parasite crawling up your arm?" Kinji asked as he skipped back and watched a few strands of his hair fall to the ground.

"Kadabin will be one with us soon. This flesh is trying to resist but my kin will silence it." The void-like eyes kept making Kinji retreat. Kinji might have become something greater than mortal but this enemy was ancient beyond his comprehension and he could feel the weight of all that time whenever he looked in its' eyes. That and a seething ocean of indignant hatred. But hope burned bright in Kinji's eyes when he heard that Jiro was resisting. Apparently Miko, or Kadabin as it was apparently called, had stopped brainwashing Jiro.

"Thanks for running your mouth! Now I know exactly what I need to do, Mahlik!" Kinji regretted speaking that name as soon as he heard the sound of it. Immediately he felt a fraction of his power leeched away and Mahlik seemed to grow more solid, more real.

"I wouldn't speak my name so casually if I were you, arrogant meat." The evil being said with some satisfaction. "You have no authority over me." Kinji pulled in some of the power that permeated the air and stone of Ai Aomai to replace what he'd lost. He hadn't wanted to try something so risky but he needed it desperately in order to save Jiro. It felt different from his power or Mahlik's but it didn't seem hostile toward him. And once he'd pulled in enough he could tell that it was extremely hostile toward Mahlik. Perfect. Kinji let his swords turn back into orbs of flame

Kinji lunged for him and felt the Sword bite deep into his left leg. He ignored the pain and put his hand on Mahlik's chest and let the borrowed power out in a rush along with a generous amount of his own power. His hope was that the power of Ai Aomai would drive a wedge between Mahlik and Jiro before his brother was swallowed completely. And he was right. The black skin peeled away and Kinji saw a very real patch of human skin. Kinji pushed harder and Jiro separated from Mahlik but it happened slowly and Kinji suffered pain every moment of it. But he managed, after an eternity, to extract his brother from the monster like pulling a coin out of a patch of tar. Kinji grabbed his wayward sibling with both arms and hauled him clear, tearing his leg open even worse before the Sword was clear of his flesh.

Kinji's final pull propelled both of them several dozen feet closer toward the exit. Jiro's reiatsu was incredibly low but Kinji could tell that his life was not in any danger. He wouldn't be waking up any time soon but he wouldn't die. Unfortunately, Mahlik didn't look to be dying either. The black skin closed back up, resuming a mostly human shape. Watching the semi-solid organic material stitch itself back together made Kinji slightly nauseous. "You're looking a little fragile." Kinji commented once his stomach settled back down. The monster didn't answer. Kinji put a hand to the ragged hole in his leg and mentally commanded it to close. Kinji knew that such a simple regeneration should have been well within his abilities but the wound wouldn't close. He looked down at it and saw the edges of the wound had turned black.

"Mortals are the most fragile of creatures." Mahlik said. Kinji called azure fire into his hand and seared the wound to staunch the bleeding. The pain wasn't actually as bad as he expected but it wasn't a tickle either. With the bleeding stopped he started backing closer to the exit with Jiro under one arm. "Well, what can I say? We weren't built to last." As soon as he was in sight of the entrance to the temple he saw Catalina Ixchel and heaved his younger brother in her direction. The unconscious Jiro would have impacted hard against the barrier but Catalina saw him and opened a hole to let him through. The youngest Kotetsu bowled into her and they both ended up sprawled on the sand. With her concentration broken her barrier fell to pieces.

"That one belongs to me" Mahlik's voice was angry, possessive. Kinji turned just in time to throw up a kido barrier of his own to block the wave of black energy that would have engulfed him and the next quarter mile of desert behind him. The barrier he threw up would have been on the crumbling edges of his abilities as a soul reaper, easily 200 feet high and twice as long. Now it was the effort of a moment to create and far more resilient than anything he could have created even a few hours ago. But even so, body sized fragments of the black energy spilled over the top of his barrier and annihilated entire sand dunes. It was sheer dumb luck that allowed Catalina and Jiro to escape death. When the energy dissipated Kinji retaliated with a torrent of blue fire that struck Mahlik like a physical blow and flung it back into the mostly intact temple. Kinji turned back to Catalina with desperation plain on his face.

"Put that barrier back up!" He snapped at her and rushed back inside to confront the unholy abomination that had nearly killed his brother just moments before. Kinji rushed back into the temple as fast as his wounded leg would allow.

#

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that right. Mind repeating it?" Urahara Kisuke said with a grin on his face. Sui-Feng's knee jerk reaction would normally be to grab him by his shabby clothes and punch him until he started choking on his teeth. But she restrained her temper and tried to be diplomatic.

"I need your help, Kisuke Urahara." His smile got bigger and he flipped open in cheap fan, keeping in in front of his face.

"I'm not hearing the magic word." A vein popped out on Sui-Feng's head and her nails dug into her palms.

"Please." Sui-Feng ground out, having a far too real fantasy of putting that cheap folding fan somewhere Urahara wouldn't enjoy.

"I may be just a humble shop owner but I'll see what I can do. What do you need?" Urahara asked.

"I need you to bring anyone combat competent and any equipment you might need to keep a spiritual body from breaking down to Hueco Mundo."

"Ah, I take it this is about your special somebody?" Urahara asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Sui-Feng's patience snapped. She punched through the cheap fan and bloodied Kisuke's nose. "That's a definite yes." He mumbled.

"Just hurry! I need to get back soon!" She waited a moment for him to get his ass in gear and when he didn't she went for his throat. She'd always wanted to choke him to death, with her world teetering on the edge of disaster she ceased to care that she shouldn't. Kisuke moved faster than she would have thought possible for someone who'd spent a century in hiding. He caught her left wrist and twisted it back painfully.

"Relax. I'm already working on it. Yoruichi!"

"We're ready to go!" Sui-Feng's mentor popped up from beneath the floor holding some complicated piece of machinery that looked for all the world like some ridiculous piece of modern art that had been attacked by someone with good taste. "And she's right, we do need to hurry."

"Things take a turn for the worse?" Kisuke asked.

"You wouldn't believe the things I've seen in the last couple of minutes. If things heat up any further Hueco Mundo might end up a memory." Yoruichi reached back under the floor and hauled up a small, significantly out of date television. The screen showed a picture of Hueco Mundo. Sui-Feng saw the ruins of Ai Aomai for a moment before it was engulfed in competing waves of white flame and black energy.

**A/N: As always I welcome feedback, both positive and critical, in the form of reviews. On another note, This story should end in the next few chapters but I'm planning a decent sized one-shot for how the events of this story will affect the Blood War arc. I didn't think it would be possible but Tite Kubo slowed the story down so much that I'll probably be able to write my little side story without any major manga changes forcing me to revise it every week. **


	32. Funeral Pyre II

Chapter 32

Catalina Ixchel looked in horror at what had become of Ai Aomai, the sacred site she had spent centuries guarding and protecting. The power unleashed by two transcendent beings had swept the area clean of any stone. Kinji and Mahlik stood opposite each other but Kinji was the only one bleeding. The wound on his leg had reopened and was leaking crimson that scattered onto the sands whenever Kinji made a quick movement. They were standing in a crater that glowed with residual heat but none of it so much as touched them. But even Catalina could tell that Kinji was the one being pressured while Mahlik seemed to be growing in power and changing form yet again. The Mirror had been completely absorbed into the black flesh and had emerged from its' back as a pair of reflective prismatic wings.

The fight continued and Kinji tried to spear Mahlik through the head. The wings enclosed the creature's body and the spear met unmovable resistance. Shards of glass fired back and Kinji was forced to throw up another barrier The translucent blue screen managed to slow the shards down but they still struck Kinji with a substantial amount of force. Kinji, now pissed off beyond all belief because nothing he did seemed to do lasting harm, tried a different approach. He sent seven of his nine flames to surround Mahlik and called on his chain weapon, Tsumibukai Tetsu. It wrapped itself around the wings and limbs of the unholy creature, emerging in loops from the seven flames and binding Mahlik down. Blue fire ran through the chains but did next to nothing to harm either the black flesh or the glassy wings.

"Well, at least that's some progress." Kinji muttered to himself. He held out his hand and twisted it in the air. The position of the seven flames shifted position and pulled Mahlik forward so that his face slammed into the hot molten sand. It was petty but Kinji was in the mood for petty after everything he'd been through that day. He leaped into the air, grasping a flame orb and producing a large axe and brought it down on Mahlik's neck. The leap augmented the power of his swing and the blade bit into the evil thing's neck and continued through to split the earth open. The semi-solid ground opened along the blade of his axe and widened into a twenty foot wide trench that continued on as far as the eye could see in either direction. The severed head fell in the chasm and Kinji turned his attention to the rest of the creature's body. He was forced to let go of the axe in the middle of a downward swing that would have bisected Mahlik's body at the waist. One of the crystalline wings moved independent of the black body and drew a bright line of blood from Kinji's elbow to his shoulder. It had been aimed at his chest but Kinji let go of the axe and leaned to the side just in time to avoid impalement.

His mind reeled in shock, he was certain he'd tied down the wings as well as the rest of the body's normal limbs. His mind started moving with a mental curse when he counted three wings sprouting from Mahlik's back instead of two. The sword arm lashed out at him, too far away to make physical contact but too close for Kinji to avoid the wave of black energy. It slammed into his chest like a physical blow but was partially negated by the protective energy that surrounded his flesh. Kinji planted his feet and pushed through the attack, suffering only minor damage. He counterattacked by charging his last floating orb of fire with enough power to make the blue orb glow nuclear white. Catalina had to look away from it or have a hole burned into her field of vision. Kinji hurled the miniature sun at his bound opponent and it exploded into a fireball that could be seen for several miles off.

#

The arrancars and soul reapers who had finished fighting inside Las Noches stood outside the dome and watched the fireworks.

"Okaaaay, Kinji or his brother. Taking all bets!" Apachi called out loudly.

"Bet what?" asked Mila-Rose. Hueco Mundo didn't exchange currency for goods and all resources were distributed under a military style system. Hell, there wasn't even anything to serve as contraband to trade in because Kinji had provided something akin to luxurious accomodations for the majority of arrancars, the few exceptions being those who didn't actually live in Las Noches but chose to make their homes elsewhere.

"Really Apache, the out fate is in the balance and you want to gamble. How unfeminine." The shockwave finally reached the assembled army and peppered them with sand and half-cooled glass. Though none of them could directly feel the energy of either Kinji or Mahlik a creeping sense of dread shut up the typically talkative arrancars. Even Grimmjow stared out at the distant fireball with unbelieving and fear filled intensity. Not since Aizen had crushed him with nothing but his spiritual pressure had he felt so small and helpless.

"This is bullshit!" Grimmjow took off running toward the explosion, his wounded pride proving more powerful than his sense of self-preservation. "Are you cowardly little shits going to just sit there with your thumbs up your asses?!" he shouted back at the assembled arrancar host. There was a brief moment where they all turned to look at each other then the entirety of Las Noches' defensive force rushed out toward the ruins of Ai Aomai. The only ones who stayed behind were Halibel, Aoki's hollowfied soul reapers, and the scientific team.

Ulquiorra watched with a level stare as the majority of the arrancars of Hueco Mundo went running by at a fairly impressive speed. He would have watched them pass in silence except that Apache called out to him as she ran by. "Hey, clown-face. Are you just gonna stand there?" Ulquiorra looked back at his prisoners for a moment to weigh his options. Zaraki Kenpachi lay unconscious and bound by an arrancar version of a kido spell, Ikkaku and Yumichika had been similarly incapacitated once he'd finished with the self-proclaimed strongest soul reaper. Loly and Menoly were a little worse for wear but still alive, there was no chance of them managing to run all the way to Ai Aomai in their condition, however.

The former Espada number 4, his zanpakuto already released, took to the air. The wind passing over his wings was hot and smelled scorched. In a matter of moments he was ahead of Apache, even ahead of Grimmjow. A few seconds later he slowed down and stopped. Ulquiorra Schifer was a nihilist who placed no value on life. He didn't even value his own life enough to feel regret about nearly dying at the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki. But even he wasn't so devoid of values that he would kill himself for no reason. And getting any closer to the maelstrom of fire and black energy would constitute exactly that.

The other arrancars also stopped short of where the ruins had been because each and every one of them had some shred of self-preservation, even Grimmjow.

#

Kinji felt his strength beginning to ebb after his conjured inferno burned out. Ascended being or not, he was not omnipotent. He had pushed so hard, burned his newfound power so hot and bright, and now he was beginning to feel the price of it. His feet were planted in the molten material with no pain or damage to him. Unfortunately, they didn't fare much better against Mahlik's otherworldly flesh. That was the word that popped into Kinji's mind, flesh. Mahlik's form had mutated into something far removed from humanity. It was bloated and uneven, the black material and reflective pieces rolling out in long, thick lines to form mucus covered appendages. It was as if it had dropped all pretenses and was creating a body more comfortable to it, or rather, them. Kinji could See the two malevolent beings with perfect clarity, though it hurt him to look for too long at things so foul and contrary to the natural world. To See them was to understand what they were and to know things that creatures like him were never meant to know. Their hatred of him and the world he lived in was like a choking miasma and feeling it gave Kinji the sense of being tainted by it himself. He turned his Sight from that level of existence and focused on the physical form being born in front of him. The central mass of flesh opened like a rotting rose, black and glistening, to expose a huge eye. It was lidless and pitch black. It was even darker than the flesh that surrounded it. It was as if the eye was pulling in all the light around it like some parasite trying to steal the life from the world.

"That is one big pile of shit." Kinji said, his voice betraying his fear. A vertical line opened beneath the eye and a mouth full of jagged mirror fragments let out a shrieking bellow that sent ripples through the small lake of cooling glass. It was too strong, its' hold on reality too solid. Kinji felt a pang of despair and he involuntarily took a step back. He had been a fool. He'd been fighting this… thing as if they were equals. If there was any one thing that Kinji had learned since this fight had started it was how unequal they were. Kinji had been alive for less than three centuries and had lived most of that as a being that would age and die, not as what he had become. Mahlik and Miko were ancient. When he looked at them he felt the weight that uncounted eons had added to their hatred of all things mortal. He'd been a fool to think he'd stood even a small chance against things so much bigger than him. No, his fate was sealed the moment Mahlik had gotten a foothold in Hueco Mundo. "A foothold." Kinji repeated aloud. Inspiration filled his sails with new wind. There was no way he could fight these things on even footing, it simply wasn't possible. But without Jiro these things didn't have a complete link to his world. The link they had was strong but it wasn't perfect. If he could pry them loose they would be forced back to the dark place they had come from. They had no host and now that they had taken on flesh they didn't even have physical conduits like the Sword and Mirror. With his Sight Kinji could tell that the two evil things were not fully present in his reality. There was a kind of thread connecting this extension of them to where they were from, where the bulk of their power still resided. He followed the thread Below with his Sight.

He saw the gate of Hell where evil souls were pulled after being cut down by a soul reaper. The thread lead down, though the levels of what they called Hell, deeper and deeper. The thread ended in a place so black that even his eyes couldn't truly see into it. But there were Things in there. He knew that the same way that sailors knew massive creatures dwelled beneath the waves of the ocean. There was a stirring in that vast darkness that made Kinji believe that, as bad as his enemies were, they were small fish back in their own pond. Then something noticed him looking and Looked back. Kinji broke his Sight away immediately but in that brief instant of contact he was subjected to mental agony. It was as if someone was dragging a cloth studded with razor blades over his brain. Beneath the pain he was struck with a bone-deep terror. He'd had no idea that something so incomprehensibly evil could exist. The fact that it could reach across dimensions and crush him like that scared him more than he would admit to anyone, even himself. How was he still alive, how was anyone still alive? Something like that could simple smash their world to pieces and there wasn't a thing any of them could do about it. What kept them out, what kept them away?

As if to answer his question he felt a gentle warmth on his head and shoulders. He instinctively Looked up and saw that too pure light being filtered and falling over everything. The diluted light felt familiar. It felt like the power that suffused the lands of Ai Aomai. It was the Soul King, the being that he had been taught was the lynchpin of Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living. Though the power didn't come directly from him it was the Soul King that kept these things out of their world. It made perfect sense in hindsight. The Soul King didn't exist in the early day of the Soul Society so clearly it could exist if left on its' own. But he'd been told that the three worlds would be destroyed if the Soul King disappeared. They would be destroyed because they had enemies that were immortal, implacable, and hated them with an undying passion that had survived millennia.

While this might seem like something academic and useless in the heat of battle, it was information of great importance. The Four Noble Houses were determined by blood, the blood that linked them all together in common ancestry. The blood of the Soul King ran through his veins. It had been diluted by generation of procreation but it was still Kinji's heritage. As a blood descendent he had a claim to the Soul King's authority and power. But the question, the question that would rule the fate of everyone in Hueco Mundo, was if he could bring his ancestor's power to bear on these Outsiders.

#

Sui-Feng, Yoruichi, Urahara, and Tessai Tsukabishi entered Hueco Mundo just in time to see the unbelievable conflagration that Kinji had created. "That looks like a good sign. Kotetsu-san seems to be holding his own." Sui-Feng reached up and punched him in the back of the head. "Why do you always hit everyone?" Yoruichi grinned widely behind the injured Kisuke. Sui-Feng had picked up that violent little habit from her.

"That giant ball of fiery death is a very bad sign."

"How do you figure?" Kisuke asked, rubbing the lump on his head and now standing 10 feet away from the violent little woman.

"My husband has a convoluted and warped mind that makes him do everything the hard way. I guarantee you he spent the last hour figuring out how to save Jiro Kotetsu from the consequences of his choices. If he did that-" she pointed at the little sun on the horizon " then he ran out of ideas and resorted to 'hit it until it dies'." She said with feigned disgust. Kisuke was a very intelligent man but his mouth often ran ahead of his good sense. This occasionally caused him to run afoul of the temperamental and easily offended. This made his coexistence with someone like Sui-Feng, who actively looked for a reason to take offense, statistically improbable.

"So he's still sane." Kisuke ducked the punch to the face but Sui-Feng's knee hit his crotch with a thud that even made Yoruichi cringe. Tessai actually held the large machine he had lugged from the Urahara shop in front of him to preclude a crotch shot.

"You do realize we need him to work this contraption." Yoruichi commented, nudging a prone and groaning Kisuke with her foot.

"Are you alright, boss?" Tessai asked.

"No, I need ice. And we're in a desert."

#

The Seireitei had devolved into pockets of fighting and smoke polluted air. The Captains had taken command as well as could be expected but the traitors were causing trouble far faster than the Captains could put a stop to it. They didn't have enough manpower or enough leaders to put out the fires, fight the juiced up fighters, and deal with the fake soul reapers the Mirror was still controlling. At least, until Ichigo and company arrived to pitch in.

They arrived via Kisuke Urahara's garganta inside the Seireitei. Not that where they were was immediately recognizable. The scorched and broken piece of ground they landed on bore nothing remarkable for at least three hundred yards.

"Are you sure Mr. Urahara sent us to the right place?" Orihime asked. As if to answer her question, several shapes wearing soul reaper robes rose out of the ashes and debris

#

Kinji was distracted from his revelations by the mass of spiritual pressure he could feel gathering just outside the molten plain he stood on. It felt like all of Hueco Mundo was converging on Ai Aomai. Not just Las Noches. The Forest of Menos had emptied, the hollows who dwelled in the sand had emerged from their subterranean homes, even the small animal spirits were beginning to gather.

All to watch him try to defend Hueco Mundo against an abomination. And if he failed they would die before their world was consumed rather than after. It shouldn't have mattered that they were there, they added nothing to his strength, but Kinji appreciated it all the same. Who knew? Maybe if he weakened Mahlik enough the arrancars could simply destroy what was left before it could recover.

Kinji looked on the growing mass of flesh, now the size of a large building, and braced himself for the final confrontation. These two creatures were truly immortal but if he banished them now it wouldn't matter that they couldn't die. They would still exist back in their sick world but they wold never threaten Hueco Mundo or Soul Society again.

"You do not belong here, Mahlik, Kadabin." This time he didn't feel power drained from him as he spoke the names. The lingering heat of the filtered light shining down from the Soul King bolstered his voice and his will. "You festering corruptions. By my authority and the authority of my bloodline I banish you from this world." When the words were spoken he felt pressure build against his mind. At the same time, the black and silver flesh began to look less solid, less real. Everything around them began to darken. The walls of reality started to wear thin and even split open in several places. The pressure was an attempt to break Kinji's will, an attempt to make him retract the words he had spoken. But Kinji, all of his mind and being bent to this single task, refused to relent. The pressure became pain and the pain grew every moment Kinji refused to recant. But Mahlik and Miko faded a little more as each moment passed. Any awareness of his surrounding quickly vanished from the elder Kotetsu's thoughts but some of the arrancars had crept close enough to see the battle.

While it wasn't as flashy as fireballs and corrosive blasts of energy it was still an awesome sight to behold. Kinji's body was burning like a magnesium flare while a mass of horrid muscle writhed and thrashed. There were spots of blackness around them, gaping wounds in the world caused by the struggle. Merely looking at them imparted a sense of vertigo. One look into that unimaginable vastness altered the viewer's sense of direction. Up and down were no longer the most relevant directions. Left and right began to seem similarly unimportant. The only two directions that seemed of any importance were closer or farther from those holes.

"What the hell is this?" Grimmjow, for the first time in his life, had no idea what to do. Everything that made sense to him seemed to break and scatter apart in front of this death match. He extended a hand but immediately retracted it. There was some kind of barrier or field around the area and when his hand passed its' outer extremity he was jolted with pain. He had no way of understanding but it was the excess psychic energy of Mahlik's attack on Kinji's mind. Several other arrancars went through a similar process of trial and error and within a few minutes the ranks of hollows clearly marked the boundary of Kinji's struggle.

Sui-Feng and Yoruichi arrived next and they shoved, punched, and kicked any hollow unfortunate enough to get in their way. When they made it to the front of the crowd they took a full step into the field of pain without realizing why the hollows had stopped so far away from Kinji. It was like walking face first into a low voltage electric fence. Their scrambling retreat was not very dignified but it was effective.

"Ha! That's what you get for running over me like that. Bitches." Grimmjow said, spitting gritty sand because Yoruichi's foot had shoved his head into the ground on her way through.

"You, jackass with the blue hair. Why can't we get closer?" Sui-Feng demanded.

"It's Grimmjow." Yoruichi reminded her.

"No, it's jackass. I had to specify the hair color because I'm surrounded by jackasses!"

"Screw it. I've put up with enough of your shit." Grimmjow's next aggressive step forward was cut short by the sudden expansion of the field. Everyone within range scrambled away, moving to the new edge of the effect. Kinji's body flared even brighter as if it was responding to the increase in the size of the effect.

"I don't have time for this." Sui-Feng stepped forward and into the field of pain. Her muscles wanted to seize up and leave her immobile but she stubbornly put one foot in front of the other. It got worse the further she went.

"Sui-Feng, don't!" Yoruichi tried to grab her arm and pull her back but Sui-Feng shook her off.

"He needs me." Was all the shorter woman offered by way of explanation. Yoruichi stepped back, recognizing Sui-Feng's resolve. She had always been like that. When things got truly dangerous her real emotions and motives had a tendency to break through the steel shell she'd wrapped herself in. And when things got to that point Sui-Feng didn't listen to anyone or anything. She simply proceeded from point A to point B with the greatest efficiency possible. Point B usually resulted in many dead bodies.

Sui-Feng marched stubbornly forward despite the agony racing through her nerves and causing spasmodic twitches. Suzumebachi was silent, all of the zanpakuto's will and energy was being channeled to its' wielder. The sword shared her master's suffering in equal measure but also shared her dedication. Sui-Feng had been blissfully happy during her three day honeymoon, something that she hadn't experienced for nearly 100 years. Suzumebachi was happiest when her master was happiest. She was willing to do anything to gain even a sliver of the contented peace her master's marriage had brought to them. And that meant enduring the pain for the next moment. And the next. A thousand moments of exquisite agony in exchange for a chance at happiness.

The mentally generated pain was intense but it didn't preclude all other sensation. The closer she got to Kinji the hotter the air grew and the air outside the field had been incredibly hot already. She felt the heat but the heat didn't seem to be painful. She glanced down and saw that she was ankle deep in liquid glass. The astonishment nearly broke her resolve but she took another step. Her shoes and socks had burned away but her feet seemed unharmed. Another few steps forward and her clothes began to smoke. The pain was too intense. Sui-Feng screamed inside her own head as her body failed to respond. She reached down deep inside herself, demanding of her zanpakuto for more strength. The weapon spirit didn't even have enough strength to respond to her master.

That was the end. She had been measured against the enormity of her task and been found wanting. She had failed. As soon as the thought entered her mind she got angry. She did not fail! Failure meant more than death it meant disgrace and dishonor and the negation of everything she was. She reached out for more strength. And something still and quiet answered her. Sui-Feng didn't understand but she was too motivated and her focus too narrowed for her to ponder this miraculous gift. Her foot moved forward another step.

#

Kinji had lost all sense of time. The pain Mahlik had inflicted on him was only the first step. Kadabin, Miko, had joined in shortly after the pain had driven him to pull back from the real world. She/It had been with him for decades and she knew how his mind worked. Kinji drew strength from his bonds with other people and from the principles that guided his life. She/It had begun to attack those bonds and those principles by lashing at his memories. Kinji's mind instinctively guarded itself, placing less important memories at the fore to protect those he regarded as more precious. Miko slashed and battered them into meaningless fragments of sensory data once after another. Kinji didn't have the strength to fight her off because all of his energy was bent on maintaining the banishment.

He wasn't particularly sad to lose memories of himself doing paperwork, or sitting in meetings. When those were gone he began losing memories of his many battles. Then those rare moments of peace when he was able to just sit and rest in some shady spot under a tree. As he lost pieces of himself he clung desperately to his memories of his family and those few people outside his family who he would sacrifice himself for.

But he knew just after Miko began to strip him of his memory that he would have to sacrifice something precious. The banishment simply wasn't moving fast enough for him to escape without a significant loss. Knowing that he steeled his resolve and waited to make his sacrifice. But Miko stopped short of his most precious memories. _**No, I have something better in mind.**_ The familiar feminine voice said in his mind.

There was a tug on his physical body, not in any definable direction but Kinji sensed where that pull would lead him. They were trying to pull him in after them. Kinji panicked. The terror pulled him back to the real world where Mahlik was flooding his nervous system with more pain than a normal person could survive. He was on the verge of rescinding his banishment when a strong hand grasped his shoulder. It was Sui-Feng. She was wreathed in blue fire and her hair had gone silver but it was still definitely his wife. With her touch he felt himself anchored firmly to reality and Miko's grip just seemed to slide away. He renewed his efforts with a vengeance and the giant black squid/spider thing vanished, ripped out of Hueco Mundo and thrown back into the lightless hellhole that it came from. The pain vanished and the mere lack of pain felt like a drug all on its' own. Kinji collapsed into the glowing lava as if it were wet sand, pulling the love of his life down with him. After minutes of panting exhaustion Kinji asked a question of the woman he was clinging so tightly to.

"How did you do that?" he asked. Her silver haired head looked up at him in relieved confusion.

"Do what?

"You're sharing my power. That shouldn't be possible."

"Kinji?" she said softly.

"Yes?"

"You think too much." She kissed him softly on the mouth, neither of them had the energy for anything more strenuous than that. When the landscape cooled into hard glass they made their way back to Las Noches along with every arrancar and sentient hollow in Hueco Mundo.

#

The hogyoku sensed the banishment of its' siblings and lamented. Perhaps it hadn't been wise to reject partnership with Sousuke Aizen. That momentary weakness allowed Aizen's captured soul to enforce his will on the otherworldly gem once more. Shapeless white flesh boiled out of the artifact and quickly took the shape of a human body. Less than a minute later, Aizen stood on the sands of Hueco Mundo once again with a subdued hogyoku embedded in his chest. His power hadn't returned yet but he was confident that it would before too long.

Straps of black fabric seemed to simply materialize around him. As soon as the first strip of material touched his skin he could feel his reiatsu being bound closely to his skin. Then, appearing out of the same thin air stood Urahara Kisuke and Tessai, both wearing the energy blocking cloaks the blond shop-keeper had invented over a century before.

"How did you know?" Aizen managed to ask before the straps bound his mouth and eyes. Kisuke looked at the mummified Aizen with sad satisfaction.

"I didn't. But you've always had a talent for making worst case scenarios come to life." He nodded to Tessai who placed the metal of the strange machine against the mummy. The apparatus came to life and formed a latticework of metal bars around Aizen that glowed the bright green of a powerful kido barrier. The transport container being safely in place, Kisuke knew exactly what to do with his prisoner.

**A/N: As Quentin Tarantino once said "The less a man makes declarative statements the less apt he is to look foolish in retrospect." I honestly believed that I would have my story done by now but for reasons of work, my other work, and the declining health of relatives I haven't been able to do much writing. For that I apologize. Now, onto the new news. I have one more regular chapter then the big "time-skip" chapter I promised. On the advice of a reviewer I will not be doing the Blood War arc. I tried to write it but, as it turns out, making the plotlines work was harder than I thought. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will write the next one as soon as I can. That may turn out to be a while, depending on how fast I can resolve a number of things, like where I'll be living in the coming year. Until then, thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	33. From the Ashes

Chapter 33

Despite banishing the evil, reality destroying abominations back to some black hole of a world, Kinji was still in trouble up to his neck. Sui-Feng wasn't exactly in a good position either. Both of them were still under sentence of death for treason and war crimes. They were both sitting with their backs against the rubble of Las Noches' main palace and pondering what to do next. "Can you two get off your asses and help clean this place up?" Mila Rose grumbled in their direction as she hauled a piece of stone several times her size away from the damaged building.

"You never really earned their respect, did you?" Sui-Feng commented.

"It doesn't look that way. The sudden lack of godly power probably doesn't help." Kinji answered. His transcendent power had faded away shortly after they'd made it back. As a result, Sui-Feng's hair had returned to being black and the corona of fire had faded away. Kinji felt equal parts relieved and disappointed by this turn of events. Having that kind of power and insight into reality was thrilling, even if his memories of it were no longer very clear. But there was a certain charm to being mortal. "It probably would have helped with the whole war criminal thing too. But, I think I may have a backup plan."

"Your last backup plan was how we got into this mess. You remember. You walked in front of Central 46 and said 'Hueco Mundo's mine, bitches'." Sui-Feng said in an exhausted monotone.

"I never said that. I may have implied that but I never actually said it." Kinji deflected sheepishly. "But this is a much better plan. I'm going to petition the Soul King for direct judgement." Sui-Feng groaned.

"No one's done that for 2000 years. Do you know why?" Kinji shook his head. "The Soul King can condemn you to Hell if he rules against you. The worst Central 46, or whatever is left of them, can do is kill you."

"Valid point. But since I stopped an evil monster from destroying Hueco Mundo and Soul Society I think he'll be likely to give a favorable ruling." Kinji winced when his wife's hand hit the pressure point above his knee on the leg without a hole in it. "I mean, we stopped the evil monster." He felt the pressure ease.

"Maybe the Captain Commander will vouch for our actions with whoever the Royal Family sends to sort out his mess."

"It would be the second time in my life that I've actually had good luck." Kinji said.

"And the first time was meeting me." Sui-Feng said, still in monotone. "Even I've heard that one."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

"You, no. But that idiot Tatsufusa I can definitely blame."

"Who?" Kinji asked, the name triggering a jumble of images and feelings with no grounding in any actual memory.

"Kyoraku's 3rd seat officer. The idiot who drew my picture for his Division's promotional poster."

"Oh. Who's Kyoraku?" Sui-Feng's half-lidded eyes shot open to examine Kinji's face for any signs of deception, thinking it was some kind of practical joke. Finding none she ran her hand over her husband's head, checking for an injury from a blow to the head. Nothing.

"Do you remember Isane?"

"Why wouldn't I remember my own sister?" Kinji replied.

"Do you remember Abarai?" She asked, a sense of dread growing.

"He's a very memorable jackass. But I guess I shouldn't say that since he's going to be part of my family soon." Strange, he seemed to remember both of them. Why would he not remember Kyoraku?

"What about Captain Hitsugaya? What Division is he Captain of?" All she got in return was a blank stare. "What's my cousin's name?" He had to remember Lin Feng. She had almost killed him fro crying out loud.

"You have a cousin?" Hearing her question answered in the negative she realized what had happened.

"That spiteful bitch!"

#

With Miko banished her constructs simply collapsed into dust. That had effectively ended the attempt to burn the entire Seireitei. But when the power granted to the remaining conspirators was ripped out of them they all died. Akamatsu collapsed in the middle of his fight with Captain Komamura, his lifeless body dropping facedown into the ash-filled mud. Reiko hadn't even had a chance to die on her own. Most of the others had met a similar fate. A few were less fortunate. Yamamoto's Ryujin Jakka had turned her to ash even before her augmented power was ripped from her.

With all of the rebels dead there was nothing left to do but tend to the wounded and put out the rest of the fires. It was a long night of dirty work before the Captains could meet, and even then Unohana was absent because the number of injured was still substantial.

"Would someone kindly tell me what this has all been about?" Hisagi demanded.

"Some of the nobles didn't think their lives were good enough. So they tried to take over. Up to speed now?" Anrak said grumpily.

"There is more to it than that. But for now that is an adequate explanation. The past is of little importance here. What matters now is the future. Our primary concern at the moment is the disposition of Hueco Mundo and the status of our invasion force."

"I took the liberty of asking Lieutenant Odelschvank to do some recon in Hueco Mundo. She reported back twenty minutes ago." Anrak said. "Our forces were captured, not killed. We suffered almost no casualties but neither did the arrancars. They subdued more than a third of our total military in a non-lethal manner and took almost no losses doing so." There were more than a few wide-eyes after that report but Yamamoto wasn't surprised. From the standpoint of military tactics it made sense. Kinji had counters to both Hitsugaya and Kurotsuchi ready and waiting, and Byakuya wouldn't really be fighting to win. But he would have to ask Kinji how he had neutralized Kenpachi. That would be useful information to have in the future.

"Genryusai-dono. Let me lead the next invasion force."

"Thank you for your enthusiasm, Captain Komamura. But that will not be necessary at this time. We will wait for the arrival of the Royal Guard." The silence that fell over everyone was almost a physical thing. After asking for a few more reports on damage and casualties Yamamoto adjourned the meeting so the remaining Captains could go greet the Royal Guard. When the pillar crashed into the ground the old man braced himself for the unusual personalities that would soon be upon him. The pillar opened to reveal… nothing. Anrak was the first to venture forward and look into the empty space. He picked up a handwritten note stuck to the back and read it several times before walking to Yamamoto and handing the note over to him without saying a word.

"What is this?" the old man said, more to himself than anyone else present. He read the note aloud. "'Send Kinji Kotetsu to us, free and unharmed, immediately. And make sure he doesn't start another war before he gets here.'."

"I can't tell if that's good news or bad news, Yama-ji." Kyoraku said, breaking the silence.

"I'm thinking very bad news." Anrak put in.

"Maybe they don't want to level the Seireitei fighting him." Neliel said.

"The Royal Guard has more total combat power than the entire Gotei 13 at full strength. They would squash Kotetsu-san like a bug."

"And I saw him turn several square miles of desert into glowing glass with a single attack." Neliel said evenly. "Any open conflict here would destroy what's left of the Seireitei."

#

"You want me to do what?" Kinji was in a mild state of shock, brought on by Yamamoto's bizarre request. Neliel had been sent to negotiate with Las Noches. The train of thought was that as an arrancar she would be best suited for a quick retreat, being capable of opening a garganta on her own.

"Go to the Soul King's Palace and meet with the Royal Guard." Kinji was glad that Sui-Feng wasn't standing there at that moment. She might have attacked the arrancar, whose name Kinji couldn't remember but whose strange hair-color seemed to be in his memories. No, better for him to tell her. He didn't mind if she got all violent and fired up while they were alone. Kinji's mouth turned up at the corners as he fought to hide a smile. There was nothing wrong with any of those memories.

"I need some time to consider this. Can you wait here for an hour?" Kinji asked.

"Actually, could I go say hi to some old friends? This might be the last time I can see them."

"Sure. Just be back here in about an hour." Kinji went to find his wife and the family members sheltering in the underground levels of Las Noches. The conversation went pretty much how he expected, with is mother reluctantly accepting his decision to leave, Kiyone begging him not to leave again, Isane making an awkward attempt to get him to stay. Sui-Feng's reaction was a little more hands on, in the sense that she grabbed him by his new jacket and slammed him into the wall. What followed was a brief argument and an altercation of a more enjoyable sort.

"Just make sure you come back. And don't do anything to upset the Royal Guard. And-" Kinji kissed her again, silencing her likely long list of ways he could screw up.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. If things get exciting while I'm gone…" Kinji trailed off for a moment and looked his wife, remembering that she had a higher body count than he did. "I'm sure you can handle it. Just don't let Isane go charging onto the front lines."

"She might do that?"

"Oh yeah. Kiyone too. And my mother might-" Sui-Feng kissed him to shut him up.

"I think I see where this is going. What about Jiro?"

"There's no evidence tying him to anything. All of the Blood Faction's higher ranking members died during combat. Keep him here, but keep him tied up."

"Do this too often and I'll start tying you up." She threatened. Kinji kissed her hard, promising that they would talk about such things when he got back. He dressed in a new set of clothes, and met Neliel back outside. He made it through several polite conversations without calling her by the wrong name. Or any name. He was rather pleased with himself at that minor accomplishment. He was far less successful with the Captains waiting for him on the other end of the garganta.

"I didn't think you'd have the balls to face me man to man." Anrak said. Kinji's responding blank stare just pissed him off more. He slugged Kinji across the face and the Lord of Hueco Mundo dropped like a bag of dirty laundry at a college dorm. "That was for what you did to my wife." Anrak growled down at him as Kinji pushed himself back to his feet, stumbling a bit because his wounded leg still had trouble holding his weight.

"Sorry. Who's your wife?" Kinji asked. Neliel grabbed Anrak in a half Nelson to keep him from hitting Kinji again.

"That's enough time wasted. It is high time you left for the Palace." Kinji complied with the order, limping into the large stone pillar.

"Alright! Ready for firing!" Kinji heard a familiar voice say. Then he was crushed to the floor by the force of the launch. The trip was a nauseating and Kinji found himself tumbling this way and that as the pillar changed directions. When it finally stopped Kinji was disoriented, bruised, possibly concussed, and in dire need of a place to vomit.

"Welcome to the-" the assembled Royal Guard greeted. Kinji interrupted by puking the small amount of food and water he'd ingested after returning to Las Noches. Thankfully he hadn't puked on any of the most powerful soul reapers alive. "Motion sickness. That's a first." Tenjiro said.

"Welcome to the Royal Palace, Kinji Kotetsu. We have many things to talk about." Ichibei Hyosube said, patting the heaving nobleman on the back.

"Perhaps we should offer him a bath and something to eat first?" Hikifune suggested.

"He looks like hell. A dip in my hotsprings will take care of that."

"Thank you." Kinji said, wiping his mouth. "I am grateful for your hospitality."

"So formal. You need to ease up, man. Be chill. There's plenty of time to get fired up later." Oetsu Nimaiya said. Tenjiro lead Kinji to his hotspring and tossed him in, unceremoniously and with more force than was strictly necessary. Kinji landed in the scalding hot water with a surprised shout.

"What was that for?"

"Being a self-righteous and self-important little shit. Now get busy cleaning those wounds." Tenjiro commanded. Kinji did as he was told and washed his burns and cuts thoroughly and they vanished at an astonishing pace. Except for the deep cut in his leg. The skin sealed the open wound but it remained a twisted mass of scar tissue and his leg still felt very weak.

"I thought this was supposed to be the ultimate method of healing." Kinji said, more in confusion than accusation. At his words, Tenjiro hauled Kinji back out of the water.

"What are you bitching about?" Kinji exposed the wound on his thigh in answer.

"This isn't exactly healed."

"What the hell?" Tenjiro touched a finger to the closed wound and the scar turned black. The Divine General of the East yanked his hand back. "Nothin' I can do about that." Tenjiro said. "I think you're clean and healed enough. Get moving." Kinji was shoved along to the next of the five palaces. Well, he was launched through the air to the next palace but he considered it an extension of the shoving.

"Welcome! Please sit down." Hikifune said enthusiastically. Kinji sat down at the table. His fine clothes, turned to rags by the hotsprings, had dried from the flight through the air. He watched in fascination as the plump woman cooked heaps of food and placed them in front of him. He had long been a craftsman of liquor and wine and he could appreciate the miracle occurring before him. This cooking process was pulling the condensed reishi from the air and infusing the food. Eating even a small portion of this banquet would impart power to the eater. It would nourish a spiritual body and even improve it. He ate everything she put in front of him and felt his body grow stronger. He even felt a distant flicker of the divine power that he'd possessed for a brief time. But his leg remained as it had been. He nearly fell over when he tried to stand.

"Can you tell me what's wrong with my leg?" Kinji asked, concerned but not afraid. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he should be dead. For a moment he thought he would be worse than dead, though he couldn't exactly remember why, he couldn't even remember why he'd forgotten. Miko's last spiteful blow against his mind had made him forget most of his final struggle including what she had done to him. But, if she had understood him a bit better she would have known that she had given Kinji a gift in those last moments. He'd seen things not meant for mortal minds, things that would have haunted his dreams. But Miko had taken them from him and unintentionally eased his burden. Mahlik's parting gift, the unhealed wound in his leg, seemed far less beneficial.

"I'm sorry, I've never seen anything like it." Kinji did a double take. He expected to see the same very large woman who had cooked him his meal. Instead he saw a tall, very buxom woman with her hair let down. "Determining the nature of things is the monk's skill. You'll see him last." She urged him along much more kindly than Tenjiro but his sudden flight was no less violent. The next two Zero Division members hurried him along after making their contributions. Senjumaru clothed him in a set of blue robes inlaid with silver thread in the shape of his family's seal. Oetsu looked him up and down once and decided to send him along without further delay. When he reached the monk the wound in Kinji's leg had grown more painful. It was a relief when Ichibei asked him to sit.

"Kinji Kotetsu. You've had quite the busy year."

"That's a way to describe it." Kinji said. "Or you could say that I burned everything to the ground trying to pull weeds out of a garden." The monk burst out laughing. He had a big voice and an even bigger laugh. The jolly sound improved Kinji's mood a little but he kept a straight face. He heeded Sui-Feng's warning about the potential punishments to be meted out in the Soul King's presence. It didn't seem like this was leading to punishment but he'd been wrong more often than he'd ever admit out loud.

"I heard you had a reputation for lying. But it takes a special kind of mind to lie with the truth. I see the truth of all things and I know what happened and who is responsible for it. The blame lies with those who tried to take what did not belong to them. Two of the Cold Ones are gone, thanks to you, but one remains and one of the collaborators still lives. These are problems that need to be dealt with." The monk said it all with a jovial tone of voice.

"My brother is off limits. As far as I'm concerned he was just a pawn for those things." Kinji protested.

"How true. Your brother was influenced by those from Outside while he was still an infant. He will be left with you but any new crimes he commits will be on your head. As for the thing you call the hogyoku, it has a new host. Lucky for all of us that Kisuke Urahara was thinking ahead. But you can find out about all of that when you return to the Seireitei. You need to hear about something else." The monk pointed to Kinji's wounded leg.

"I'm stuck with a limp for the rest of my life." Kinji said, positing what he believed to be the most likely scenario.

"Yes. The evil energy that remains in your leg cannot be removed. By all rights it should have killed you by now. But then, you aren't a simple soul reaper."

"I had power beyond that of a soul reaper but it's gone. It faded away after I banished those…things."

"I can still see it in you. But now instead of empowering you it is allowing you to live despite your leg. If you were to use it again…" the monk trailed off ominously.

"The curse that thing left behind will kill me. Spiteful bastard." Kinji spat. "What's the real reason you called me up here? You must want something from me, otherwise you'd just let Yamamoto deal with me in his own particular way."

"Yes, of course. That is what we've been talking about. Does something about me make you believe I speak words without meaning?" Suddenly the monk's jovial manner took on a harsh edge. "You have done much that we do not look kindly on. But you and those who helped you will be pardoned because you will have a chance to atone for your sins." Kinji felt the monk's reiatsu seeping out into the already dense air.

"And what is this thing I need to do to atone?" Kinji asked. The monk's mouth spread into a smile showing large blocky teeth.

#

Sui-Feng waited in Hueco Mundo, recuperating from that last, terrible march to save her idiot husband. She was sitting in the underground chamber with Haru and Kiyone. Her pet cat, Kohaku, was laying on her stomach and purring as she idly scratched behind his ear. She was still terribly tired and in need of sleep.

"So, how was the honeymoon?" Kiyone ventured.

"Too brief." Sui-Feng said.

"They always are." Haru bemoaned. "But, if you're lucky, you can have days and nights every bit as wonderful." Sui-Feng cracked an eye open to look at Haru. Something in Haru's voice tipped her off to the emotion that sentence had stirred. The look on her face caused Sui-Feng s brief moment of empathic pain. Haru had lost as much as anyone involved in this disaster and Sui-Feng saw an echo of her loss on her face. It was the face of a woman who had loved deeply and long then lost. Sui-Feng had nearly lost Kinji on more than one occasion so she could sympathize with Haru.

But she wasn't sure where to go from there. She hadn't been emotionally socialized as a child because developing empathy was a danger to assassins. She had no idea what she was supposed to do in a situation like this and she had no emotional instinct.

"But, if you can, make sure you have a very long honeymoon Kiyone." Haru said, snapping out of her moment of pain.

"Mom!" the youngest woman protested in embarrassment. "I'm not planning on getting married anytime soon."

"Too bad. I recommend it." Sui-Feng quipped.

"Even with how the wedding went?" Haru asked slyly. A slow smile spread across Sui-Feng's face as the memory came back to her.

#

**Hueco Mundo- 4 days ago**

Sui-Feng felt ridiculous. The big billowy dress was totally impractical and it was covered in lace. Lace! Who came up with such a stupid thing?!

"You look beautiful." The attendant said as she finished fitting the dress to Sui-Feng's petite frame.

"I look like a giant pillow."

"You never dreamed of wearing a beautiful gown on your wedding day?" the arrancar asked.

"I didn't even think I'd get to pick my own husband. And the 'wedding' would have been a brief ceremony with five representatives from each family." Sui-Feng replied.

"Are you joking?" The arrancar's brown eyes were wide.

"No. In fact, my father's wife was chosen for him when he was still a child. But what does getting married have to do with wearing something twice my size?"

"It's a pretty dress. You don't like how it makes you feel?"

"No. I feel obvious and exposed." Sui-Feng's attendant pursed her lips. The master assassin tried to take a few steps and her feet got tangled in the folds of the dress. She growled in frustration. "I would do almost anything to get out of this dress."

#

Kinji was trying his best to imitate the steps in the picture but no matter how he tried he couldn't get the elegant triangular knot he knew he was supposed to have. It was annoying enough having the collar button tight around his neck but why on earth would someone tie a noose around their neck as a fashion statement.

"What do the duties of 'best man' include?" The properly attired arrancar asked. Ulquiorra Schiffer was not Kinji's first choice. He wasn't even his fifth choice. But since Aoki was in the middle of hollowfication along with several other soul reapers, Renji was in Soul Society, Dordonii was far too enthusiastic, etc. Kinji just wanted someone who wouldn't create a disaster on his wedding day.

"You walk in with one of the bridesmaids and stand next to me during the ceremony. And from what I understand of this type of wedding you act as my bodyguard."

"Why is a bodyguard required for a wedding?" the highly rational nihilist asked.

"I'm not really sure. Assassination attempt while the ceremony is going on?" Kinji guessed. He finally got the piece of fabric arranged like the picture showed and let out a bark of laughter. "Got it. Now I just hope no one tries to choke me to death with it."

"Yes. That would be a tragedy." Ulquiorra said. Kinji looked at him sharply, unable to tell if the emotionless creature had made a sarcastic quip or if he was being serious.

"Just get out there and ask my mother who you're walking in with."

#

Haru Kotetsu was in rare form. She coordinated the activities of several hundred arrancars with the skill and panache of an orchestra conductor. Getting a cake baked and decorated, preparing the main hall, getting the food cooked and laid out for the post-wedding dinner. She'd elected for a western style wedding because it could better accommodate a large audience. And because she loved the extravagance of it compared to the traditional form of Seireitei weddings.

"This bitch is going to be the death of us." Loly groused.

"Shut up and keep working." Grimmjow had been utilized as a motivator rather than a worker. Haru had seen very clearly that he would be useless for taking orders but he would be very good at getting other people to follow those orders. Kiyone was sticking close to Grimmjow to ensure he did more good than harm and Haru eyed them with a mother's intuition. There seemed to be a strnage compatibility between the two of them. Of course, with Kiyone she couldn't really trust her intuition, it had mislead her too many times where her youngest daughter was concerned. But maybe…. Haru closed her eyes and pushed the thought away. The wedding that was actually happening had to take priority over a possible future romance.

"Kiyone, is the bride ready?" Haru asked.

"I'll go check."

"Grimmjow, dear. Could you go check on Kinji?"

"Fine." He stalked off, shouting at arrancars who he perceived to be slacking off.

#

"I am Kinji Kotetsu's bodyguard for the duration of this event." The pale man stated.

"And what the hell does that have to do with not letting me walk through this door?" Grimmjow leaned in threateningly with one arm against the wall.

"I believe that proximity to you extraordinarily increases his chances of dying before he is bonded to the Feng woman." Ulquiorra stood immovable even with Grimmjow's reiatsu filling the hallway.

"What a load of bull. I need ot make sure he's ready to go. Everyone out there is working their ass off for him and if he isn't ready on time they'll have to push him out there in a wheel chair."

"I'm ready. Just keep a lid on it for today, huh? Think you can do that you psychotic, milk drinking, battle crazy piece of mouse chasing-!" Ulquiorra clamped a surprisingly strong hand over Kinji's mouth to keep him from finishing his rant. Grimmjow's reddening face indicated that he was very close to attacking Kinji, official ranks be damned.

"We will be along very soon. You can go and tell Lady Haru that Lord Kinji is ready but needs a moment." Grimmjow shifted his irate stare to the other arrancar. Between Kinji and Grimmjow Ulquiorra had doubts that he could prevent a serious fight without inflicting injury on both of them. Then Ulquiorra felt a flutter of soul reaper reiatsu similar to Kinji's.

"Hey, don't threaten my brother on his wedding day."Kiyone said firmly, folding her arms and giving Grimmjow a look.

"Shut up, bossy midget." As soon as Grimmjow said it, Ulquiorra had to struggle to hold Kinji back. But Kiyone held her ground all on her own.

"That's right, I am the boss of you. Now come on, we've still got work to do." She grabbed his hand and lead him away from the approaching fight. Strangely enough, the arrancar only resisted for a moment. Kinji chocked it up to the ass kicking he'd handed the blue-haired man when he was hollowfied.

"What do you think you are doing?" Ulquiorra asked Kinji after he let him go.

"What? He's the one who showed up and started acting like a prick." Kinji said defensively.

"Why did you intentionally try to start a fight on the day of your wedding?" Kinji didn't answer. The observant Espada noted the slight twitching of Kinji's fingers and the bead of sweat running down the Lord of Hueco Mundo's head. "You do wish to be married, correct?"

"Yeah, of course I do. It was my idea in the first place." Kinji didn't realize it but he shifted his weight from foot to foot in a nervous tic.

"That may be true but you are uncertain nonetheless. Why is that?"

"I'm not uncertain I'm just tense. It's kind of a big deal to soul reapers, getting married." Kinji replied.

"Why? It's just a contract. A pact of mutual aid." Ulquiorra said. Kinji looked at him in amazement.

"You are one cold unfeeling bastard, you know that? It's not just a contract it's a covenant."

"The definition of the two words are identical."

"Maybe in a dictionary. But a covenant is more than just a binding agreement, it's the foundation for a completely knew ordering of reality. The people involved change. In a couple hours I'll be a…" Kinji trailed off and the shaking got worse.

"You'll be what? A husband?" As soon as that word came out of the arrancar's mouth Kinji's center of gravity tilted and he stumbled against the wall. "I simply don't understand you soul reapers."

"Well too bad, you're gonna have to learn to live with us." Kinji pushed off from the wall and took a deep breath. He felt cold sweat wetting the collar of his suit. He was genuinely happy about getting married, but it was still a huge step for him. His life would change drastically from here on out, assuming he wasn't killed in the inevitable conflict with his brother. When that thought crossed his mind Kinji felt a sense of balance restored to his world. It wasn't that his choices were weighing on him any less, more like it was evenly distributed so that he could still carry it without tipping over. "Alright, time to go meet my fate."

"You look like you're about to engage in a duel to the death." Ulquiorra commented.

"And so I am." Kinji replied and his words had the ring of ancient wisdom.

#

Kinji stood on the small raised platform in his suit and one of the Kotetsu elders was standing behind him. He waited patiently for the groomsmen and bridesmaids to process in, each dressed in formal attire. Ulquiorra, the best man, walked arm in arm with the maid of honor, Tia Halibel. If ever there was an unlikely pair…

When the wedding party had finished their procession, Kinji saw Sui-Feng in a totally impractical dress. He'd thought the idea of tying a potential weapon around his neck was ridiculous. But a dress whose fabric stretched ten feet behind you on the ground was just silly. He'd seen Sui-Feng in formal attire but that had been a very elegant and far smaller robe. The things he and his soon-to-be wife put up with for the sake of family. The ceremony was brief, far less time consuming than the ordinary Seireitei wedding, and Kinji was glad it didn't give him too much time to fret over his vows. He was no stranger to public speaking but until that moment he hadn't really cared about what he said in front of other people. This was different. These were words that he and Sui-Feng would remember for the rest of their lives.

Sui-Feng didn't make eye contact with Kinji when she stepped up to the altar. He couldn't see her face very well behind the veil but something about her body language said that she was very embarrassed. It made the whole event feel off for some reason, like something was out of place. Kinji chocked it up to the same pre-marriage nervousness he was feeling. Or maybe it was because she seemed taller than normal. Maybe she was wearing those strange shoes form the human world that looked like someone put sticks under the heels. That didn't sound right either. But then again, he had a silk noose around his neck.

"We are gathered here, before these witnesses and in the name of the Soul King to bond these two in holy matrimony. If any in attendance would give reason these two Houses should not be joined, speak now or be forever consigned to silence." Kinji felt his heart hammering in his chest as the time for him to recite his vows drew closer. The sound of blood rushing in his ears was so loud that he didn't hear the sound of blades being drawn behind him. Three killers, people Kinji had handpicked to be part of Hueco Mundo's soul reaper staff, jumped out of the audience with their swords drawn and ready to cut down the bride and groom. Everyone in the audience was caught off guard but Ulquiorra and Halibel were not. They each stopped one of the assailants but the third managed slipped past them.

Kinji had reacted to the best man and maid of honor using sonido and turned in time to see the final attacker but not in time for him to do anything about it. But the blade stopped half an inch from Sui-Feng's back. The sword had been caught near the handle by… Sui-Feng? Kinji did a double take when he saw his fiance' standing two feet behind the woman wearing the wedding dress. Sui-Feng delivered a kick to the assassin's head that knocked him out cold.

The audience was up on their feet and everyone started shouting at once. The Kotetsu and Feng had been seated opposite each other and most of the shouting was accusations of one sort or another. But mostly the Kotetsu family members were saying that the Feng had arranged the attack as a sort of political coup while the Feng hurled back insults and counteraccusations. Both arguments had some merit, the Feng would gain a huge political boon for taking out criminals wanted by Central 46 and many in the Kotetsu had previously voiced opinions against the firstborn son of the Kotetsu's main house marrying a member of the much lower ranking Feng family.

After putting powerful binding kido on the three would-be assassins Kinji sent a blastwave of blue fire over the heads of the entire gathered crowd. The roar of the flames drowned them out and forced the crowd to be silent. "Everyone calm down. These men were mine and the fault of this attack lies solely with me. Now sit down, the wedding isn't over yet." Most of those in attendance did so but a few were slow to decide. Bright blue fire gathered around Kinji's clenched fists and the slowpokes made their decision a moment after they saw his reaction to their hesitation.

Then he turned to Sui-Feng and the woman in the dress with the face obscuring veil. Sui-Feng removed the piece of thin cloth revealing Apache. Kinji opened his mouth to ask a question and closed it again. He had a million questions he wanted to ask but Sui-Feng didn't like answering questions. She would probably only answer one before she just moved on from the whole thing. So he had to find the one question that he really wanted answered. He skipped over the obvious like "Why would you do this?" or "Did you know they would try to kill us?".

"How long were you going to let her stand in for you?!" he demanded of his soon-to-be wife. She was wearing a white variation of her battle uniform which, he realized, fulfilled the basic requirement that a bride be wearing white. Which meant she didn't have to wear that big dress even though he'd damn near choked himself putting a noose around his neck.

"You don't want me to answer that question." She replied. Then she put the veil firmly on her head and lowered it over her face. "You can go take a seat."

"Fine, just remember your part of the deal."

"I will. Now let's get this over with." Kinji just sighed and resigned himself to future incidents of paranoid precautions. "Just skip to the important part." she said to the elder.

"This is highly irregular." He protested. The bride and groom both leveled looks at him that promised a slow and agonizing death. "But given the circumstances… Do you take this woman to be your wife?"

"I do." Kinji said.

"And do you take this man to be your husband?"

"I do." Sui-Feng said.

"By the authority given me by the Royal Family I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

#

Hueco Mundo- present day

"That was a very good day." Sui-Feng said.

"You're kind of weird, you do know that?" Kiyone commented.

"I do." Sui-Feng said. After a few heartbeats she felt a pang of something, somewhere between guilt and responsibility. She opened her eyes and looked at Kiyone. The blond woman flinched. "I'm sorry about Soukyoku Hill." Kiyone's jaw almost hit the floor. She'd never heard Sui-Feng apologize to anyone.

"It's fine. I barely even remember it." She said, not wanting to tax Sui-Feng's apparent goodwill. Sui-Feng closed her eyes again.

"I don't really know how to do this. I never had a sister before. Or a mother." She said, as much to herself as to the other women in the room. She heard both women get up from where they were sitting. Then she felt a hand on her head. A gentle hand that stroked her hair.

"Welcome to the family." Haru said. Kiyone put her hand on Sui-Feng's and they both stayed there until she drifted off to sleep.

#

Word had come down to the Seireitei that Kinji and Sui-Feng, as well as the entirety of Hueco Mundo, had received a full pardon. Kinji had only been gone for a day by his time but because the Royal Palace and the Seireitei were in separate dimensions the flow of time was not the same for both of them. By Sui-Feng's reckoning he'd been gone for almost a month, even though the pardon had come down only a day after he'd left. She was standing near the landing site for the Zero Division waiting for Kinji to return. According to Yamamoto, who had been informed by some Mohawk sporting zanpakuto spirit, he would be returning today. She wasn't alone, Haru, Kiyone, Isane, Renji, and a majority of the current Captains were all waiting.

Then a small point in the sky sparked with blue light. Kinji was plunging down from the sky without transportation of the pillar. But he touched down on the ground without too much of an impact, his tails spreading out and slowing his descent like a parachute. He fell, his leg unable to support his weight and the sudden impact. But he got back to his feet and dusted off the fine robe he'd been given. When he saw Sui-Feng he rushed over as fast as he could manage and embraced her. "I missed you." Sui-Feng hugged him back hard. "There's something I need to tell you." He said, thinking of the monk's dire prediction.

"There's something I need to tell you too." Sui-Feng said, pushing him back to arm's length. Kinji saw the hesitance in her eyes and kept his mouth shut. Whatever it was it was probably more immediately important than a prediction of the future. "I'm…" she put a hand to her stomach and looked at him with one of her rare genuine smiles. Kinji's eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat.

"You mean, I'm going to be a father?" he asked. She nodded, still smiling. Kinji felt lightheaded and the world seemed to tip slightly to the left and go dim. He passed out and hit the ground with a thud. Isane, concerned for her brother's health, rushed to him. Renji, trying not to burst out laughing looked over at Anrak Ushii, his longtime friend who he'd invited along to welcome Kinji back. Originally Anrak hadn't wanted to go, he wasn't exactly friends with either Kinji or Sui-Feng. But now he had a smile on his face and held up a fist for Renji to bump.

"You were right, this was the right thing to do."

**A/N: Well, this is the last chapter for the story. I'll write a longer epilogue in the future but that's a ways off yet. Thank you to everyone who read this story and reviewed it. It's been fun writing this story I hope at least some of you had fun reading it.**


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